


Five Minute Overdrive

by NoNomDePlume



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Aromantic Jeon Wonwoo, Asexual Jeon Wonwoo, Established Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Friendship, Hacker hoshi cus its funny n ironic, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Kissing, M/M, Meanie past relationship, Mutant Powers, POV Alternating, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Seoksoon (if you squint), Superpowers, Too much tag! Sorry, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, inspired loosely by the project power movie, it's very brief and not detailed, seventeen with powers, very brief and not detailed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 63,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27617437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoNomDePlume/pseuds/NoNomDePlume
Summary: After a string of increasingly bizzare criminal cases started to appear throughout the city; Reports of humans developing their abilities late and mutants spontaneously combusting, Detective Choi Seungcheol was asigned an ordinary case in comparison.At least, it was at first glance.Lee Chan, a kidnap victim quickly proves his case was anything but ordinary.Seungcheol found himself spiraling. Uncovering secrets more convoluted than what he had anticipated. But with the help of his partner Junhui and lab technician Jihoon, the detective might just be able to solve the case.And perhaps along the way discover romance in a form of a stubborn shapeshifter name Jeonghan. Long lost friends he'd thought he'd burried in the past and new friends who might just stick with him through it all.*OrThe one where Seungcheol is a telepathic detective, Junhui is his empathic partner, and Jihoon is their chlorokinetic lab technician. And they meet a bunch of other (mostly) gay mutants whilst trying to solve a kidnapping case. falling in love with each other along the way.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo & Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Kim Mingyu/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK, Meanie past relationship - Relationship, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 57
Kudos: 89





	1. They Used to Shout My Name Now They Whisper It

The first thing Chan noticed whilst on the brink of consciousness was the pungent smell of antiseptic floating everywhere, lemony scented and overly processed, a pathetic imitation of freshness that lingered bitterly inside his nose. The second thing that incited him further into alertness was the metallic flavor encompassing his tongue, flooding his senses even more as his brain worked overtime to keep his defenses up. 

With a startled gasp he finally awaken, eyes bloodshot and wide, squinting strenuously upwards at the brilliantly white light blinding him. He tried getting up, wincing, vertigo overcoming his foggy brain, his mind spiraling off as his body abruptly seized attempting to be further upright, jolting back down with a thump. Focusing off beside him, his eyes bugged, thick leather straps were restraining his wrist so tightly that his veins bulged out, inside one of them a needle was sticking out. His vision followed the lines of the miniscule metal that was attached to an elongated tube and saw it was connected to an IV with clear-colored liquid inside. 

Thoroughly freaked out he thrashed around on the contraption constricting him. Taking in everything surrounding him and frightening himself even more. Everything was bone-chillingly anemic and clinical, nothing that he was familiar with. But the ache he felt in his chest _was_ familiar, he wanted to return home.

"Oh, please," he tried shouting, his voice coming out horse and weak, a growing lump in his throat as he felt increasingly agitated at the situation. Attempting - failing - to wriggle away from his shackles only to discover that his feet were both constricted as well. He was lying on the table spread-eagled, vulnerable and helpless, the sudden realization furthering his panicking hyperventilation.

His breathing were shallow ragged intakes of oxygen. His defenses aligning into his fight or flight reflexes. Tears were flowing freely down his face, cascading downwards his cheeks in thick droplets where it previously gathered around rimming his bloodshot eyes. "Please," he pleaded mirthlessly. Nobody's coming to safe him.

His body was burning, the blood in his veins thrumming, boiling with the necessity to escape. "Please!" He shouted again a little louder, eyes falling from white wall to another, claustrophobia choking him as sweat started to build up on his forehead.

_Where am I?_

"Please!" He cried out and the room erupted into scorching heat. Flames danced all around the room, like a hurricane of fire swirling around the miniscule space. Destroying every single thing that is white in the room, charring it. Chan observed safely in the eye of the hurricane, seeing the straps constricting him melting away. He gathered his limbs into order, beginning his escape. His mind a mess of, _I need to get out, I need to get out, I need to get out._

Righting himself up he staggered onto his tremulous feet, the previously blindingly white room, now a pitched-black burnt color. He didn't pay much attention as he set his sights on the door ahead of him.

"Please," he whispered, hoping once more to himself before revving up. Slowly he covered his body in a ball of powerful inferno, taking his stance. Bowing down towards himself he then ran head first onto the door, demolishing it with his shoulders. 

Running as quickly as his weaken state allowed, he steadied himself with shaky hands resting on the freezing wall of the darken hallways. Hearing sirens bursting all around him he bloomed fire underneath his fingertips and made his escape, praying for his body to not collapse.

He needed to go home.

*

Growing up, all Seungcheol ever desired was to help everybody around him. He had this enthusiastic way in taking on life, self-appointing himself the responsibility of assisting people who needed it, cultivating destructive, self-aggrandizing behaviors, wanting to become a hero in every situation.

The ability he possessed aided him in his endeavors, it was easier for him to pick-apart people with unpleasant intentions when he could effortlessly wander inside these people's minds, cherry-picking information he needed to enforce what he blindly assumed as justice in the situation.

As a child, all he ever heard were praises; people always approached him for help in resolving a problematic situation and frequently he happily open his arms for them. He remembered manipulating his ability for petty things, assessing low-level situations; like that one time when one of his childhood friends, Mingyu, accused his other friend, Seungkwan of stealing his food when he wasn't looking. He chuckled and simply observed inside his friends memories, watching their greedy little hands stole the mouthful of noodles from right out of his friend's plate. Relaying the information caused his friend to hilariously blew up in each other's faces.

It always ended in a fit of giggle, and jutted out bottom lips. Being the middle ground for everyone was a blessing of an ability for the natural leader to have, and he utilized it to the fullest.

In hindsight, this train of thought was childish and very clearly sugarcoated from the realities of the world surrounding him that he was participating in. Not everything is black and white, not everyone is good or bad, and not everyone had such genuine intentions as him.

He remembered the first time his mother found out about his telepathic ability. She had required him to do a favor the next day, inviting a thirteen-year-old Seungcheol to one of her business meetings, under the guise of learning experience when everyone knew he was much too young to understand anything being presented to him. 

The building he was escorted into was gargantuan, doe-eyed gaze fell upon every unimportant detail he saw; glass paneled windows, high-tech vending machines, a ginormous marble-lined lobby. He took everything in innocent stride, falling for the honey-dewed trap the glamorous building had set up for him. 

His mother had tugged him aside before entering the room where the meeting would be held, whispering in his ears, "Read what you can from him." She pointed at a frowning man, balding at the top and a sleazy grin on his face. Seungcheol's hair stood up at the back of his neck, the moment he inspected the man, he knew he had less than virtuous intentions. So he readily accepted his mother's request, happily receiving the phone with the notes app opened she trusted into his hands, and sauntered inside with the intention of reading the man and relaying the information in a typed out format.

Seungcheol didn't remember much of the incident, a bunch of the words were unfamiliar to his immature ears, the vocabulary to advance for his capacity. He wrote it down anyways and relayed the information to his mother.

It was years later did he finally realized how his mother became the CEO of that company, why the man was suddenly out of a job. It was an unpleasant truth to be presented with; he should've realized that with every business men – hell, every _men_ there were both positive and negative intentions inside all of them. That the greediness he saw inside that man gave him no right to strip him away of his title, the way he had no right giving his mother the position to replace him.

Ever since then he started pulling further away from the lifestyle he was born into, becoming hyperaware of his parents manipulations that resulted in them gaining profit. They always praised him on his abilities, complaining about their own practically useless one; his mother's language proficiency and his father's seconds memory eraser, one he frequently used on Seungcheol to keep him in a disorienting loop, especially when he started to figure them out, were only useful to an extent. He despised how much he was manipulated, hated the circumstance of his birth.

He frequented less and less of business events, family gatherings, instead worked assiduously to receive a scholarship so he didn't have to disburse his parents’ dirty money anymore. He eventually joined the academy, where he hopefully could atone for his past mistakes and utilized his ability to _truly_ help people instead.

His mother was furious when he refused to accept one of the branch companies she owned and had planned for him to run, became even more furious when she discovered that he refused because he decided to become a detective. His father though, was much calmer, pulling his wife aside, whispering the most corrupt of things to her ears. "It's fine," he had murmured. "Now we got a man on the inside." It sent shivers down Seungcheol's spine. 

Seungcheol rejected those offers. Now he's twenty three, living alone, refusing to contact his parents (it's been two years now) and was working as a rookie detective at the Mutant Enforcer and Investigator Agency.

It sounded amazing, even in his mind, having a steady-paying job, a spacious apartment of his own (his parents paid the first few months, but he refused to acknowledge it to himself), a small circle of friends that also had similar mindsets to him. That is until he shifted his eyes beside him and was reminded once again of the stack of paperwork he has yet to process.

 _Oh right,_ he thought, he was useless here.

Pushing away from his desk, the wheels of his chair squeaking alerted his partner positioned beyond the partition of his agitation. Junhui quirked his brow up in inquiry only to be met by his partner's malicious stare. Begrudgingly, he rolled his chair nearer to the stack of paperwork, grabbing one randomly, thumbing through it, sighing with every syllable he read.

This was going to be a long night.

He threw himself back onto his chair unceremoniously, moaning and sighing every few milliseconds, a mess of tension knotting his back. 

Seconds later he felt this tension uncoiling, straightening out the knotted mess of thoughts inside his brain, relaxing him further onto his chair.

"Wait!" He suddenly shouted, earning glares from other people working at the desks surrounding his. He paid them no mind, choosing instead to point an accusatory finger at his partner. "You, I told you to stop doing that."

His partner shrugged, already used to his friend's intimidating anger (he knew better than to fall for it, Seungcheol was a ball of fluff inside). "I was just trying to help. That massive chip on that shoulder of yours is giving me a massive headache."

Seungcheol pouted secretly grateful that his partner was attentive enough to his emotions. "Sorry," he eventually relented, watching Junhui chuckle at how obvious he was.

"No problem. What are you doing anyways?" Junhui leaned in, peaking his light-brown head of hair through the partition, chancing a glance on whatever Seungcheol was doing.

"Paperwork," he muttered plainly, hearing his friend hummed his ascent.

"Yeah, I did mine yesterday."

Seungcheol was bored of being a desk-worker detective. What was his purpose of being in this agency if he was only going to be relegated to processing paperwork after paperwork for people above him? What was the purpose of him having a partner if he had to do the exact same thing? He knew he was young and quite entitled, aware that he had much to do before he could be a field agent like every other veterans in this building. He was just impatient of waiting for that day to arrive, for the chance to prove himself.

"Choi," someone behind him called, followed by another stack of paperwork plopping on top of his already towering one. He sighed, deflating right back down onto his swivel chair in defeat.

" _Woah_ there rookie, don't pout, you look like a camel."

Seungcheol glared at Jihoon, who happily grinned at him mockingly, looking absolutely drowned inside his dirtied, too large lab coat. There were soil on the white fabric that Seungcheol was positive was the result of yet another one of the tiny lab technician's botanical experiments, he briefly wondered what sort of plant Jihoon managed to grew inside the lab this time. Was it another mutated Venus flytrap? Seeing inside the technician's mind he saw a gigantic elongated structure of a green-purplish plant, a pool of liquid inside where a couple of what he thought were animal carcasses, rapidly dissolving.

Seungcheol grimaced, pulling back from his friends mind and automatically putting a hand to cover his nose even though he couldn't actually smell the dissolving carcasses. 

"Fuck, what the hell are you working at with that thing?"

Jihoon chuckled. "You saw didn't you? That's what you get for sneaking into people's mind." The technician stood back, leaning against the empty desk behind him, opening up one of the case files in Seungcheol's lump and slipping a couple things inside.

"Uggh, just do your job why don't you? What even is that?"

"What even is what?" Junhui intercepted, interested in the conversation he's missing. Only now noticing the technician was there, waving and smiling at the smaller one in a _way_ too enthusiastic greeting.

Jihoon rolled his eyes at the two detectives. Why oh why out of all the professionals inside this agency did he ended up making friends with the utmost idiotic people within it. He ran a hand through his short raven hair and sighed, picking up another case file.

Jihoon nodded to himself once he stored the evidence paper in the correct case file, slamming it shut and throwing it back to Seugcheol who readily caught it.

"For your information, I am working. I'm testing out the new mutated pitcher plant."

"For what?" 

"Trying to test out the acid theory," he answered simply, when the two detectives threw him a questioning glare, imploring him to continue. Sighing exaggeratedly, he did, "One of the guys from autopsy came to me with this weirdly disfigured body that they thought was melted inside an industrial acid waste, since they found the guy inside one of the chemical factories downtown. But the agency didn't want to give them money to seize an entire factory so they can throw animal carcasses in there to test out if the body was burned via acid or not. So...I made the pitcher plant thing. It has similar enough acidic properties as an industrial acid waste." Jihoon didn't think the body was thrown inside an acid waste, the pig carcass he threw in dissolved much too quickly for a body of the same size to stay intact after being thrown inside one. Plus, the body of the pig he fished out was burned on the inside as well as the outside, it's meat and muscles falling of the bone much too easily whilst the body that they found was much more intact, and absolved of any chemical burns inside.

Whatever, he's sure he'll figure this out. He's not a working veteran level lab technician in the agency for nothing.

"Your work is so disgusting," Junhui commented, grimacing at the thought of melting bodies. He knew full well as a detective he might one day encounter equally as gruesome crime scenes as Jihoon's melting bodies, but he didn't think he'd have the stomach for inducing such a harrowing experiment voluntarily himself.

"At least I _have_ work."

"Uggh," Seungcheol groaned, swiveling back towards his desk. "Don't remind me."

The stack of paperwork was mocking him with its egregiously large stature.

Jihoon giggled in amusement. "Oh come on, I'm sure it's not that bad." He sat down on a chair, scooting it next to Seungcheol and picking up yet another case file. He opened one and started reading. "Think of it as reading a mystery novel or something." The case file that he picked was definitely interesting enough. "Huh."

"What?" Seungcheol leaned in, already getting glimpses, pictures of crime scenes inside the technician's mind.

Jihoon flipped to see the front of the case file, seeing the serial number. "What's case 1083-A?"

"Oh." Seungcheol leaned back in his chair, remembering the success the two lead detectives in the agency got last week. The whole floor had erupted when the detectives had finally taken down one of the hardest underground crime syndicate to pin, that's been wreaking havoc throughout the city. There was a celebration and pizza, which the two detective rookies were conveniently excluded of as they were herded to their desks to immediately work on – that’s right, _paperwork_.

He remembered something about bodies being found inside the underground den of the syndicate, with weird and various markings on them, but he remembered nothing more. 

"It's that big bust that happened last week," he simplified, not wanting to get into it incase his jealousy fester inside his stomach.

Jihoon shook his head in exasperation. "Yeah no shit genius, I can read – is there any more information? Like did they found something weird?"

Seungcheol recounted the words that were said throughout the party, but he didn't remember any information that had caught his ears.

"Oh! One of the lead detectives in the case said that they had to take down one of the escaped convicts he'd put in jail a while back during the bust. He said it was weird since the guy was listed as human when he was imprisoned, but the guy was definitely a mutant when they caught them again," Junhui excitedly chortled. He even saw the convict being carded in a wheelchair, unconscious, before getting put inside the transporter where the criminals inside were going to be transferred somewhere. He remember catching a glimpse of the guy, seeing his eyes suddenly opened wide, glowing bright crimson before laser beams shot out of his irises in various directions, before he was tranquilized seconds later.

It freaked Junhui out enough that the memory became vivid, especially knowing that the guy had been human just a couple months before.

"So he turned into a mutant? – Really, a middle aged man?"Jihoon asked, incredulous, Junhui nodded as an answer. "But that's impossible."

"Late bloomer?" Seungcheol suggested, watching Jihoon frown deepens, shaking his head.

"No, even if you have the mutagene it dies when you reach twenty - twenty five, at most if it's not activated." He hummed, flipping between evidence and calculating aspects that didn't add up in his mind. He needed more information. "Can I take this?"

Seungcheol shrugged, "Go ahead, the paperwork is always backed up anyways. Just give it back to me when you're done."

"Thanks." Quickly, Jihoon returned to his lab, Balenciaga screeching on the linoleum floor as he turned the corner until he's unseen by the two dumbfounded detectives.

"What was that about?"

"Genius being a genius – Don’t mind him." 

The two went back to their works, Seungcheol to his monstrous stack of case files and Junhui to whatever he was doing before. 

Deep down, Seungcheol was quite envious of Jihoon. The technician was a year younger than him, but a couple years ahead of him in the workplace. Jihoon started working in the agency since he was seventeen, after graduating college early, taking up and passing laboratory science and forensic pathology with flying colors, he was recruited by the agency and marveled as a genius at what he does. He was given leniency at every corner; people come to him begging for his help. Jihoon had accomplished so much in his shorter life-span that Seungcheol ever did, he felt incompetent being there.

He didn't realize he was working his mind up into a stupor until he feels the tendrils of his partner's ability coaxing him downward into a calm and relaxed state.

"Thanks," he said in a small voice.

"No problem." Junhui smiled and went back to work.

Seungcheol had to believe he was there for a reason, and that one day he'll receive numerous opportunities to help people the way he always wanted to.

"Choi, Wen!" Someone shouted from across the room. "The chief wants to talk to you."

Maybe his opportunity was closer to him than he thought.

*

Chan was hyperaware of his surroundings; everything was either blindingly neon-colored or painstakingly loud. A store that he had passed through several blocks down had suddenly blasted music from within it, startling him into stepping onto a puddle of muddy water. Now with soaking wet bare feet, he stumbled his way through another neighborhood.

People were giving him openly curious glances inside this neighborhood. A couple blocks down were mostly empty of anyone, the further he ran, the more people started becoming aware of the oddity of an existence he was. People were scrutinizing the boy wearing the torn, semi-burnt hospital gown, stumbling barefoot along the unsanitary streets of the city. He's aware the more people stared, the closer he was to the wealthier side of the city.

Nobody in the slums ever inspected one another; people there got their own difficulties to handle.

"Hey," somebody said, following a hand on his shoulder that Chan immediately shook off, attempting to get away from.

He pivoted around, seeing a seemingly compassionate woman observing him, her arms outstretched, palms open in a placating manner. Like she was attempting to tranquilize a frantic wild animal. "It's okay." She soothingly whispered. "Are you lost?"

Chan's cognizant of how he must've appeared; disheveled, skeptical, and yes, he was lost, but he wasn't about to trust some random woman from uptown, no matter how sincerely she presented herself. His slumrat intuition wouldn't allow it. He began moving his feet ready to escape when his legs caved underneath him, darkness overtaking his vision once again.

The next thing he realized, he was being picked and prodded on by several hands in a clinically disinfected area into unconsciousness.

Later he startled awake, causing a commotion on the gurney he was forcibly constricted in, about to yell for assistance when doctors and nurses noticed him awake and simmered him down.

"You're at the hospital," one of the nurses explained.

"Can you answer a couple of questions? A detective is here to see you," asked another. 

Chan relaxed reluctantly into the pillows, nodding weakly as an answer.

The process following was exhausting, it reminded him of the first time he had gotten arrested and subsequently thrown into juvie. The agency he was processed in now was as unforgiving, and no matter how many people referred to him as a victim, he still felt like a criminal being held unwillingly in the interrogation room.

He was questioned, thoroughly, apathetically. There was a thick, fog-like partition guarding memories that he couldn't reach towards. He practically served no help for the Captain sitting expectantly in front of him. 

"That's alright, I have a detective that just might be able to help you, we can take you home and question you again tomorrow." 

Chan shook his head immediately at that. "No, I – I don't remember where my home is anyways." That was a lie; he just didn't think the other slumrats would appreciate it if he was returned back inside a detective's vehicle. They'd have questions he won't be able to answer, neighbors breathing down his neck.

No, he didn't want any authority's attention on the slums.

"Okay then," the Captain easily agreed, suspecting the younger one's trepidations, able to deduce several fearful lingering expressions with his ability. He figured there was no point in terrifying the boy further; he'll talk once he's calmer. "I hope you're okay with minimal accommodation? One of my detectives might have a spare room where you could sleep for the night.

"Sure." And the conversation ended.

*

Whatever situation Seungcheol had expected after entering the captain's office, it certainly wasn't what he had ended up being presented with.

Cap, or the chief detective in MEIA was a charitable man, his head always full of loaded cases his underlings constantly approached him for guidance. His job was complicated, demanding. Seungcheol was sure if he was in the Cap's position then he would've disintegrated days after taking up the position. That's why when Cap entrusted he and Junhui the task as the resident desk-worker detectives, he understood the other's restriction. From what he read, Cap knew that they had potential, but was hesitant on the younglings’ ability to go through a case as rookies that recently graduated the academy. He still hated his job description, so when Cap requested them both into his office, he was immediately ecstatic only from reading several lines from within the Cap's mind.

"You're giving us a case?"

"What did I say about reading me?"

Seungcheol nervously chuckled. "To… _not_ do it?"

Cap nodded firmly, hunching his back before pacing to his leather seat. He was tired, had a long day, and wanted nothing more to sleep it off. Of course life came with many surprises as it promptly deposited a child at his doorsteps at the dead of night.

"Yes, I got a case for you two – a small one," he quickly added, carefully navigating the increasing elation on the rookies' faces, not intending to get their hopes up.

"Yes, anything, whatever, thank you."

Cap sighed; those youngsters were going to be the death of him.

"There's a kid that came in just a couple hours ago, he said he was kidnapped, didn't know where he was, where he came from," he explains, throwing the case file at Seungcheol, who's expression immediately brighten at the sight. Considering he had been ogling at numerous case files for paperwork, the sight of another one should've deepened the frown he had on his face, but he was overly enthusiastic right now. Next to him he could feel Junhui vibrating, barely containing his excitement. "I want you to interrogate him, read him if you have to, check out the last place he remembered being, and report it back to me." The kid, Lee Chan, was most likely a victim of one of yet another very common mutant kidnapping around the slums area. He had the record of the victim ready after seeing the kid staggered inside the interrogation room, dressed in nothing but a hospital gown. He figured the boy had been experimented on the same way a number of mutants who were kidnapped were as well.

Unfortunately these cases were frequent, large quantities of mutants from the slums gets kidnapped daily and sold into trafficking. Their value determined in the underground traffic market based on what abilities they had. Though they haven't gotten another disappearance case in quite some time – the kid never even been reported as missing, most likely because he had nobody who could report in if he was living in the slums – they knew that these cases still runs rampant and the possibility of it ever stopping is slim to none, thus the reality of the world.

Cap was just grateful that the kid was already of age. Barely, turned eighteen a few months back. So they didn't have to endure child services. The kid was declared lucid and of sound mind enough to be released, and was decided to be entrusted to the agency after that. Cap decided that the boy probably required rest, and Seungcheol might have a spare couch in his apartment available.

"I'll take the couch."

"Seungcheol," Cap reprimanded. _death_ of him, he swore.

"Just be nice to the kid, gather as much info as you can, and take him home. Once you're done then report back to me, got it?"

"Yes," the rookies affirmatively answered, excitement barely contained in their voices.

"Okay then, you're dismiss."

Descending the staircase on their way to collect the kid, both Seungcheol and Junhui couldn't contain their growing enthusiasm; it's their first case after all.

_So…sleepover?_

"Sleepover," Seungcheol assented, following his skipping partner ahead of him.

*

Chan observed as the detective drove further and further away from the heart of the city, wondering which direction the car would take; the darker parts of the city, crime-ridden, sanguinary, and unsympathetic – or the wealthier side where equal amounts of crimes happened but carefully concealed whilst simultaneously shamelessly glorified. He couldn't tell, he never really traveled anywhere outside of the slums even within parameters of the city, so the amount of ginormous, expensive looking structures was his only marker. He didn't have time memorizing the city when everyday he's busy trying to survive an unforgiving society.

"Finish your shit, then you can sightsee." Jeonghan used to say in reply to his whines when he was disallowed to meander longer during their rare excursion to the city. He learned to value his time more ever since then.

"How much further?"

"We're close," came the immediate reply. So detective Choi is quite wealthy from what he could gather. His apartment wasn't too far away from the city, the glimmering skyscrapers still within a seeing distance. However, he didn't know much pertaining to the detective in the passenger seat – detective Wen. Was he just as rich as detective Choi? – More? This was the information he required before deciding if he should trust them or not.

Seungcheol looked apprehensively behind, at the boy in the back seat – eighteen years old, not that much younger than him, but the way the boy's hunching in on himself, glowering at everything that sparkled like it was going to attack him made him look much younger to Seungcheol's eyes.

The detective was aware of the case profile the boy was secretly building in his head against him and his partner. Knowing what he did about Lee Chan, Seungcheol didn't blame him. A young boy maturing in the slums, having to scavenge and swindle people for sustenance and means to live every day, being in and out of juvenile systems; Seungcheol wouldn't blame him for disdaining both authority and affluence. And here Chan was faced with both of them. Seungcheol just hoped that the boy would disregard that part of him, focusing towards his intention instead, because he genuinely wanted to help.

"We're here," Seungcheol unnecessarily announced, vehicle already swerving halfway down the parking basement.

Chan was surprised on how moderately sized the apartment building was. Nothing like the gargantuan structures of luxury and glamour downtown. This one was a little more...modest, with its blue tinted paint thoroughly covering the exterior of the building, smooth with no damages nor cracks present. It wasn't glamour, but it definitely wasn't the slums either.

"I hope you don't mind, my room isn't exactly huge."

The three of them advanced inside the elevator, and Chan right there knew the exterior of the place was absolutely deceiving. There was a smell of expensive perfume lingering in the tiny metal box taking them further upwards. The lights on the elevators didn't flicker, persistently bright and crimson, and there wasn't any jostling that might cause paranoia. They weren't in danger of plummeting from electrical failures of any kind.

Again, not glamour, but this was luxurious enough.

Seungcheol sighed where he stood; not liking that he's losing the boy's trust before conversing with him about a topic of substance. He didn't realize how difficult the people in the slums had it, the more he peaked inside the boy's mind the more he was reminded of his past and how privileged he was – _still_ is.

Seungcheol could feel the happiness he had within him from receiving a case trickling away when they finally reached his floor.

Junhui watched him in concern when he felt his partner's positive emotions took a nose dive.

"Please." Seungcheol ushered the boy out, herding him from behind.

_You okay? Junhui asked._

_Yeah, it's just – I’ll tell you later._

The three of them made their way into Seungcheol's apartment. Junhui immediately acquainted himself with the furniture, already familiarizing, opening up the case file the Captain had given then. Chan was a bit mote tentative in his measures, observing everything in equal measure of astonishment and trepidation.

"Sit." Seungcheol offered the small ottoman and the kid sat perching himself on the edge. 

This was going to be a long night.

Once settled, Seungcheol offered the boy some refreshments that the boy vehemently refused before accepting the offer of water.

The air in the room quickly became serious.

"So, Chan, can I ask you a couple of questions? It won't be long; I'll let you rest later."

Chan nodded absentmindedly, refusing to meet the detective's gaze. "Just so you know, I don't really remember much." He'd informed the other detectives this, but nobody had paid attention.

"Yes, I know, that's why you were assigned to me. Full disclosure, I am a telepath; I can see your thoughts and memories." he was pretty incredible at excavating too, was classified one of the top telepaths in the country because of it. That's how he got his position at the agency (besides his wealthy background), his ability might be useful on some trauma cases where victims unknowingly burry memories within their mind, aiding in unearthing them. It broke Seungcheol's heart knowing people have to go through such trauma that their minds literally _needed_ to forget in order to survive, and that the boy in front of him was one of those victims.

Chan was panicking a little in his spot, he didn't like being in close proximity with someone who could instantaneously wander through his memories. He was from the slums, he's done a couple of egregious actions in life, and Seungcheol's a detective, someone who could penalize him for it, especially now that he's eighteen.

His heart palpitated within his chest; his fingertips were beginning to burn, sparks of fire beseeching permission for release, his fight or flight reflexes triggering, he was about to combust and then – 

Tranquility – washing over him, and he knew enough compulsers to know that this feeling wasn't natural.

"What are you doing?" He meant it as threatening, but the way he melted onto the backrest, presented him as otherwise.

"I'm sorry; I have to get you to calm down." Chan stared at the other detective, who finally said something to him. "I'm an empath, and we're going to need you to calm down if you're gonna answer some of our questions, okay?"

Chan nodded absentmindedly, to relax to care.

Seungcheol felt trepidation taking hold, wondering if attempting this might betray the boy's trust, that might resulted in him closing up on them both furthermore. But this was all for the boy's benefit and for a lot of other mutants benefit as well, so he'll just have to endure everything one at a time.

"Okay, Chan, could you please tell us again what happened? Where did you escaped from?"

Chan started to recount what he had told the other detectives, relaying the information mechanically. He tried his damnest to remember what he was instructed to, but there was a haze in his mind that's stopping him from remembering anything.

This was different than any ordinary trauma cases he'd been presented in training. Chan's mind was filled with fog that felt medically induced more so than the brain's protective mechanism. He managed to see a few things though; a white room, an IV, a dilapidated looking building, and a sign, and – 

He could feel Chan's mind starting to overwork itself, firing alarms signs, a mechanism to push him out. He figured this was as far as they could traverse tonight. For now, the information he received was enough, and he nodded at Junhui, allowing the boy rest.

Almost instantly like magic, Chan fell into unconsciousness, his brain registering nothing but absolute darkness.

Seungcheol Immediately grabbed a pen and paper, writing everything down, one label in particular sticking out.

Junhui peaked over his shoulders, reading Seungcheol's scrawls of letters.

"Red Hill Medical Centre."

That's it, that's where they needed to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! i'm new to the fandom, so I apologize if I get anything wrong. Also, english isn't my first language so excuse my poor grammar. Otherwise, enjoy and thanks for reading. Also comments are greartly appreciated <3  
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> Chapter title from Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat


	2. There's a Place in the Dark Where the Animals Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhm...I forgot to mention that half of the book is already done since I kinda wrote 30k words right after watching Project Power, so...yeah. Also enjoy hacker hoshi <3  
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> TW: unwanted sexual advances (it's consensual but the character just doesn't like it, idk, stay safe!)

The club was packed to the brim tonight; pulsating neon-colored lights bathed the dimly lit room, crowds of sweaty bodies grinded on the dance floor. Jeonghan gazed to the ocean of people in revulsion, knowing he had to intermingle in-between them if he was going to score any target tonight.

"Tell me again."

Soonyoung leaned forward, ready to repeat the information he'd collected for Jeonghan. "The guy only comes here to get wasted every Friday night. He won't suspect anything. If you try and come up to him, his bodyguards might though, so all you need to do is get close enough to get his phone, give it to me then I'll hack it. You need to distract him for at least ten minutes."

Jeonghan smirked. "Ten? You needed fifteen last time."

"You underestimate me too much," Soonyoung teased, grinning until his eyes shifted into tiny crescent moons. Jeonghan detested the fact that somebody so intelligent could go so undervalued in this world just because of their circumstances of birth. Soonyoung was a literal magician when it came to tactical analysis – that being his ability after all. Soonyoung was incredibly intelligent that at certain points he's even able to perceive the future, predicting the series of events that would transpire next. All Soonyoung needed was the complete information, which he easily recovered on account of him being an incredible hacker as well.

Soonyoung didn't deserve to be here, slumming it with Jeonghan. Soonyoung could effortlessly create a business from the ground up if opportunity arose, but of course reality didn't work like that. They were considered fortunate enough to have been born mutants, their genetics allotting them the opportunity to level the playing field. Most slumrats weren't as fortunate, that's why they remained where they were. Stuck inside a never-ending cycle of 'never going to make it'; the elites having greedily manipulated mutants, utilizing their various (strategically bred) abilities. The slumrats – even the mutant ones, couldn't possibly compete with that.

"Remember, he has two bodyguards."

"None of them are mutants right?" Soonyoung shook his head. "Good." Then it'd be easier for Jeonghan to take them down if need be.

Knocking back the shot of alcohol, Jeonghan arose. His dress skirt riding up as he began scrambling, attempting to pull it down as best he could. He was wearing a slim-fitted silver number that he's worn to death for little missions like these before. Sleazy men seemed to desire women in skimpy, skin-tight dresses, especially dirty men who thought of everyone else around them as vermin and girls as sex objects. Jeonghan detested them, that's why it's exceptionally fun to bleed them dry of all their money.

"How do I look?" Jeonghan brushed his shoulder length hair back. "You said he likes blondes right? Or I can make my hair longer."

Soonyoung nodded, taking a sip of his own drink as he got his equipment (one laptop on its last leg that needed literal minutes to start up) ready for later. "Make yourself a bit shorter, he likes smaller girls."

Jeonghan huffed but nodded nonetheless, easily shifting until he was a couple inches shorter than he actually was.

"Perfect."

Jeonghan strutted away from his table, setting crosshairs on his target. It always felt bizarre sauntering around with numerous different body parts he wasn't accustomed to. He couldn't ever keep it up for long, only sustaining a couple hours before his ability began depleting his stamina, eventually forcibly knocking him out and right into his original body. Thankfully his original appearance isn't too further off from effeminate, all he had to do was transform a couple parts down there and a little bit on the chest area, and he's golden. His facial features shifting so even if he's caught in some way, the cops wouldn't recognize him.

Walking closer to the table, he did his utmost in navigating through the legion of dancing inebriated bodies. Attempting it as sexily as squeezing through foul-smelling people could be. Swinging his hips along the beat of the music, he began attempting to garner the attention of his target that was now attracting several girls towards his table, all clambering for his attention. Maybe the guy was more important than he originally thought, seeing as numerous greedy little hands was already trying to manipulate the untouchable man. 

That made Jeonghan salivated for the guy's bank account even more.

Jeonghan sauntered confidently towards the table; high heels echoing loudly even through the thumping music. His objective was to maybe intimidate some of the people already congregating around the table. 

Once he was sure the target's eyes were on him, he began his seduction. Smiling effortlessly, he strategically put his hand on a girl’s waist and whispered something outrageous enough in her ear that the girl ran away, red-faced.

It finalized his control on everyone's attention, but most importantly, his target's. _Perfect_.

Jeonghan grinned, gazing seductively. "Mind if i sit here?" He said, voice dripping with sensuality, not bothering to wait for an answer before he slipped into the round booth. The others grimaced dejectedly recognizing when they'd lost. His target, uncaring, only lifted a finger for his bodyguards to leave.

"Go right ahead sweetheart." 

Jeonghan watched as one by one the other occupants departed, knowing they won't beat the shapeshifter's meticulously crafted beauty, their stiletto heels clicking away in chagrin towards the dance floor, possibly to find some other, much easier target in the ocean.

From where he was Soonyoung observed Jeonghan settling up right next to his target perfectly. Shaking his head fondly he proceeded to go to the bathroom, turned on laptop in hand. 

"Damn he's good."

*

Seungcheol approached the decrepit building; it looked less harrowing than the structures Chan had recalled. The boy must've unknowingly reshaped his memories, warping it until it borderline nightmare territory. It was understandable; Seungcheol thought if he'd ever get kidnapped then his memory would twist every insignificant little detail into a sinister monster too. But this was the correct place, the sign in front of the building stating 'Red Hill Medical Centre' in big bold letters.

"It looks abandoned," Junhui commented from beside him, finally pocketing his cellphone the detective had been preoccupied with since earlier. At least Junhui was now focused, stepping forward, examining the towering structure – which, according to records, _was_ abandoned, which was why the two detectives were able to visit with no warrant, intending on examining the building.

At first Seungcheol was reluctant to leave the boy in his apartment alone. There was no guarantee that Chan wouldn't leave his apartment or at least attempted to, if he's left unsupervised. Or worse, the boy could probably burn the entire building down. Junhui assured him though that he'd relaxed the boy enough – inducing him further into unconsciousness, so that he wouldn't awaken for at least another couple of hours. Besides, the boy was probably exhausted from being kidnapped. There were no wounds visible on his body when they found him besides the superficial ones, that's why Chan was discharged from the hospital. But the mental toll from being kidnapped must've wounded him enough that he could sleep for days if the boy weren't so agitated by his surroundings. Regardless, they hoped their theory was correct and that they won't find an uninhabited, charred apartment when they return.

"Come on, we should hurry."

They had their issued weapons in their holster, just in case, wearing bullet-proof vests to protect them from any possible incoming attacks, layering their ordinary outfits (shirt, jacket, and jeans). They doubted they would uncover anything dangerous, but it's better to be prepared. Even though whoever that took Chan must've already vacated the premises by now. The only reason why the detectives were there was to scout the place and possibly recover some evidence left behind.

Stepping inside, the whole building groaned at their arrival, their creaking steps echoing down the long empty hallways.

"That's not creepy at all," Junhui muttered sarcastically. Suddenly, running into physical trouble, like a criminals that might threaten their safety seemed way less intimidating than the concept of being pursued by an apparition. The empty hospital resembled something taken out of a horror movie; the detective didn't even want to think of how many people died in here and still roamed the hall in incorporeal form.

"Really, Jun? You're scared of ghosts right now? Get your head in the game," Seungcheol whisper-shouted, startling his partner.

Junhui gulped, "Right." he forgot Seungcheol could hear his embarrassingly loud thoughts.

"Come on." Seungcheol grabbed Junhui's sleeve, guiding him to the right of the intersection, rounding a corner, then another that looked all the same to Junhui but not to Seungcheol. Seungcheol had memorized everything from the tiny cracks to the markings of specific graffitis lining the walls of the hospital in hopes they could find their way around.

They twisted and turned, ascending and descending steps until they eventually reached what seemed to be a dead end, but Seungcheol knew better.

There was a partition that was made out of some sort of opaque sturdy material that prevented the two detectives from accessing beyond. The partition seemed incredibly out of place in the abandoned hospital, especially with all those burn marks surrounding the area of the weird wall. Seungcheol was positively sure Chan had gone through here, remembering the wall of fire he saw inside the boy's memory. "We have to break through this." 

Junhui nodded, walking backwards before sizing up the wall, Seungcheol looked behind him understanding what his partner intended to do, he himself following a similar position. Together they rammed their bodies into the wall, expecting to either be bounce backwards or they'd fall through harshly. Luckily, neither happened as the two instead shot through the wall, fumbling face first onto the ground.

Junhui groaned after landing on his side, his shoulder throbbing, although it didn't feel dislocated or anything. But he did take a couple moments to whine on the floor. While his friend was doing that, Seungcheol was swiftly getting up on his feet, examining what they'd stumbled into. The wall was definitely organic, most likely made by a mutant, which provided some sort of clue.

Whilst the rest of the hospital looked relatively abandoned, this section was definitely not. It looked like it was vacated only recently. There were burn marks littering the wall, courtesy of Seungcheol's current house-guest, but it was only several miniscule and sporadic darken spots that resembled grime against the pure white color than anything else.

The LED lights above them were on, shining incessantly down on them. Everything was so spotlessly clean that you could eat off of the floor. There was a humming in the air like there was an abundance of electrical discharge that made Seungcheol aware that some sort of machinery was probably up and running in here.

"Woah." Junhui quickly caught up to his partner, looking around equally as floored. 

Whatever they've stumbled into was definitely bigger than just a run of the mill mutant kidnapping.

No, not when Seungcheol peaked into one of the rooms, careful to not touch anything with his hands. He saw machineries, as expected, all running. Panels of scientific statistics flickered back at them. There were IV bags, heart monitor, gurneys, ventilation; it looked like someone was running experiments there. 

Experiments on mutants.

"We need to call this in," Seungcheol whispered, Junhui already halfway dialing the Captain's number.

*

Jeonghan felt the suffocating heat of the club finally affecting his composure. What else was he expecting, really, from a shitty little club in the slums? Of course desiring a running air conditioning system so the attendee inside won't die from overheating was too much to ask for. Seriously, was there no ventilation around here?

The person he had beside him who had an undesirably possessive arm encircling his waist definitely felt the heat too. It's just a different kind of heat.

Jeonghan tried his damnest not to grimace from the way the target's stubbles were irritating his neck. His target's been sniffing him like an animal from where they'd sat until now, currently evacuating towards the bathroom. Jeonghan vaguely thought that if this was somebody else, somebody a little bit younger, a little nicer, and overall a little more desirable, the actions currently happening to him right now and on the regular when he's out on missions like these would be kind of attractive. But at last, this target was at least three times older than he was and considering Jeonghan's deliberately disguise himself into appearing younger than his original age (shooting around seventeen – eighteen-ish), he was absolutely positive his target was a predator. One that he had to excitedly entertain for the next ten minutes, unless – 

"Babe, could you send your bodyguards away," Jeonghan whispered seductively in his ears.

His target threw him a contemplative look. A business men like him must had some semblance of common sense to run a business long enough to gain a substantial amount of profit from. Some slumrat girls who looked utterly unintimidating might just be that, _unintimidating_ , but he could never be overly careful with pick-pockets and avaricious (borderline) prostitutes intending to swindle him out of the money in his pockets. But then again he's inebriated on whatever that was inside his cup that the beauty in his arms had swallowed the rest of before walking him towards the bathroom, so his judgment was probably a little askew.

He nodded, making several drunken gestures that the bodyguards seemed to understand enough that they halted just before the bathroom door.

Fortunately, nobody was occupying the disgustingly grimy bathroom, safe for one cubicle that was closed, that Jeonghan didn't let his target paid too much attention towards. Grabbing the collar of his target's jacket, then presenting his neck, burying the target's face in it. His target started indulging himself on him, and Jeonghan began faking his enthusiasm.

"Oh my god you're so good," He groaned, in hopes that the bodyguard didn't suspect anything else but that was currently happening inside. 

The lowlife attached to his neck kept licking like a thirsty dog and Jeonghan actually groaned in frustration at that, but the guy seemed to take it positively. Whilst the lowlife was occupied Jeonghan made quick work of his target's pockets, finally acquiring the phone, dropping it onto the floor as gently as possible, hoping that his target had a good enough phone quality for the machine not to broke, and he kicked towards the closed off cubicle.

Minutes seemed to pass by tediously as his target slowly began creeping his filthy fingers all over his body. Irritation represented by sweat building on his forehead and Jeonghan had absolutely enough, especially when the guy began groping him.

"Okay," he huffed, "I'm done." bored and a little bit ticked off, he turned the guy around blindingly fast, kicking his feet from underneath him into a kneeling position, then putting the target in a choke-hold. His target struggled within his arms, scrambling, scratching at his skin until tiny droplets of blood rose to the surface of the wound, only to close up seconds later, and the guy eventually passed out, tumbling unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Gross," Jeonghan grimaced before turning, intending to wash every surface of skin that the man touched. He felt incredibly violated even the bathroom seemed less grimy compared to his skin. Shivering within his dress, he patted himself dry.

Soonyoung suddenly opened the door of the cubicle he was sequestered in, a smile on his face as he slipped the phone back inside the target's pocket.

"That was quick, "Jeonghan commented, "You sure you got everything?" 

"Positive," Soonyoung asserted, quickly helping to gather a couple toilet papers for Jeonghan, "The money's been transferred to our account."

"Fantastic, let's get out of here." Jeonghan couldn't wait to finally get home and wash his sparkly sequined dress of the guy's stench, since he required the dress again for another mission.

"You're not gonna take his cash?" Soonyoung questioned, noticing the outline of the guy's wallet still inside his pocket.

"No, if they didn't notice anything's missing then those meatheads outside won't chase us around. They'll think he just pass out."

Soonyoung hummed, agreeing, happily going along. He would be completely lost if he hadn't encountered Jeonghan in the slums. Soonyoung had always accepted things in stride; even after being presented with all the darkest parts of the world he still kept a smile on his face and humor in his life. He was a perfect match for Jeonghan, subsiding the apathetical and cynical way the older perceived life. To Jeonghan the world was a warzone, you either have to kill or be kill, and no amount of pleading would get you anywhere in this dog-eat-dog world. If you want to survive, you have to acquire all you need any way you could, that's the lesson that Jeonghan taught him.

"Let's go home."

*

Jeonghan and Soonyoung had managed to walk halfway towards their homes when suddenly a car skidded to a halt in front of them, the furious looking passenger appearing from within the black Rolls-Royce.

"You bitch!" He shouted pointing an accusatory finger at Jeonghan before he instructed his bodyguards to approach towards the pair.

"Run!" Jeonghan shouted.

Soonyoung was already sprinting ahead of him, predicting an incoming mess their way. Fortunately, without having to voice it, Jeonghan knew that Soonyoung wouldn't lead the two bodyguards towards the direction of their home. They didn't want the furious business men to come looking for trouble after he figured out the two boys had drained him dry of his bank account.

Mind working rapidly, Soonyoung started to access his mind palace, memorizing what he could of the layout of this section of the slums. He knew the maze-like alleyways like the back of his hand, knew that a couple of ways down, going straight to the left, there was a building with an emergency latter at the top that Jeonghan was just about agile enough to reach. They both could use that to escape, all they had to do was slow down the bodyguards behind them and carefully Soonyoung began forming a plan inside his mind. Utilizing several sharp turns that the two slumrats were already familiar with might just do the trick.

"Han." Soonyoung shouted, careful to not say Jeonghan's full name. "Follow my steps yeah?" And then he took the first sharp turn and Jeonghan was caught off guard enough that he almost slipped whilst following. But the older was sure that Soonyoung had already set an escape plan, so he heeded the words of the younger ones fully.

"Remember that hag of a woman that had that cat with the rabies?"

"Yeah!" Jeonghan shouted, already knowing where they were running towards.

"Okay," Soonyoung hollered, looking behind him and seeing the two bodyguards closing in. "Let's take the confusing route." And like telepathic twins, the two of them moved in sync with one another, taking an abrupt turn to the left, and running again.

They took turn after turn after turn, navigating the darkened alleyways like they're made to escape it. The last turn that they took sent them to the last alleyway where the emergency latter of the cat lady's home was located. The two bodyguards were slowed down enough that they haven't made the turned yet.

Speeding up his running, Jeonghan overtook Soonyoung, his legs ready to jump. Grunting, he bounced off his feet, his right foot pushing off of the building, his spine arching to give him momentum as he kick of against the next wall. Hands outstretched above him, he grabbed the rusty bar of the ladder and hoisted himself up, both of his legs already coming through the ladder so he could perch himself there upside down like a bat, hanging only by the top of his feet, so he could reach further down enough to hoist Soonyoung up as well. For extra measures, he added a little height to his body by shifting as much as possible in his tiny dress, in a less than ideal position.

"Come on." Jeonghan reached for Soonyoung just as the bodyguard caught up to them. 

Soonyoung jump, not being as agile as Jeonghan he almost missed the older's delicate fingers. Fortunately, he didn't and Jeonghan was able to help Soonyoung up on the latter, his feet nearly slipping several times.

Soonyoung managed though, and with a triumphant cry toward the midnight sky. The two started scaling the ladder leisurely, now knowing it was impossible for the bodyguards bellow to reach them.

"Take that suckers!" Jeonghan taunted gleefully as he started his ascent right underneath Soonyoung.

"Give me the pill!" He heard one of the bodyguard suddenly instructed.

"What? Are you sure? It's dangerous you know," The other one hesitated, but he was already digging inside his pocket for the pills.

"I don't care, I don't need the boss tearing me a new one again tonight."

Jeonghan had halted by this point, staring down in confusion at what the two bodyguards were arguing about. He and Soonyoung was already halfway up the tall apartment building, there was no possibility for the two bodyguards to catch up, yet they seemed so persistent and he didn't think any pill would assisted them in their situation.

Squinting, Jeonghan could just about make out the outline of the two bodyguards shrouded in darkness, only partially illuminated by the moonlight above them. He was about to turn away when suddenly something below him glowed brilliantly orange, and before he could start guessing what the source of it was, a fireball flew directly towards him. With quick reflexes, Jeonghan moved to dodge the oncoming inferno. Unfortunately, his upper arm was grazed by the fireball, making him lose balance as he let go of the ladder, his body falling with a yelp towards the ground.

"Jeonghan Hyung!" Soonyoung shouted, quickly making his way down the ladder, with everything in mind, rapidly calculating an escape plan. Somehow a fireball charging at the both of them was not something he had foreseen.

Soonyoung heard the commotion underneath him, flames were being thrown in various directions and he hoped Jeonghan was able to dodge them. The bodyguard shouted a shrill cry that cut through the foggy midnight air. It sounded irritated and frustrated, and it terrified Soonyoung, resulting in him being unable to conjure up a new escape plan. His mind was a repeating thought of, _oh shit oh shit oh shit._ And his priorities right then was getting to Jeonghan.

Ascending as far as the ladder allotted him, he finally jumped off, landing onto the disgustingly wet asphalt. His eyes immediately flitted towards Jeonghan, who's crouching beside the dumpster as the two bodyguards close in on him.

"Hey!" Soonyoung shouted in attempt to distract them, but the one bodyguard who was literally covered in fire didn't seem to hear him. Only shouting nonsensically, becoming increasingly louder making Soonyoung feel that something was off.

"Hey," the other bodyguard started to shift his attention less towards Jeonghan and more towards his screaming and inflamed partner. At this point the flaming bodyguard had begun shouting in agony, and it made the other bodyguard worried. "Man are you o –" 

He didn't get to finish because his partner quite literally exploded, becoming a raging ball of fire, startling both Jeonghan and Soonyoung who was further away enough for the growing flames to not reach them. Unfortunately for the other guard, his position was way too close.

The silence after the thunderous screams were almost deafening, the two slumrats ears ringing.

It seemed like forever before the two boys petrified into silence were able to move again. Their eyes glazed over, reflecting back the flames dancing on top of the two charred bodies.

_What in the hell just happened?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why but I really love the concept of hacker hoshi sm, it's so cute. Anyways, he definitely became unintentionally super important when i wrote him. Oops.  
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> Chapter title from My Chemical Romance - the Sharpest Lives. <3


	3. The Invisible Man Who Can't Stop Staring at the Mirror

By the time the ornate grandfather clock rang at midnight, Cinderella was about ready to book it out of the party. Unfortunately, this party was just getting started.

Cinderella – or, Seungkwan desired nothing more than to leave behind one of his left slipper for some sort of prince to find whilst he cascaded down the steps of his egregiously massive mansion. Unfortunately, he couldn't, not when he was quite literally the centerpiece of this entire event.

Today was the day, where everyone in the one percent community had had enough with dancing around the subject of what Boo Seungkwan’s ability actually was, and decided to throw a soiree in his honor.

This was nothing new, of course, in the elite community, this was considered as one of their glamorous tradition. Brimming of fabricated wonder and celebration, as multitude of white-collar elites concocted ideas to try and get around their latest opponent's air's ability so they could all stay one step ahead of the game. That was the actual function of this ball. The alternative function was so the elites could parade another thing – something that their bloodline was born with beside opulence.

Seungkwan hated it, the self-aggrandizing behaviors of his community and he would still one million percent hated it even if he's not who he was currently. A human.

"Oh come on, it probably won't be that bad." Mingyu was scrutinizing the singular olive floating inside his untouched dirty martini like it was going to start attacking him. Seungkwan clicked his tongue disapprovingly, so that's what underage drinking looks like. 

His behemoth of a friend was being especially unhelpful tonight, just lounging on the cabriole, occasionally giving out insubstantial but somewhat encouraging commentaries.

At least Seokmin was a little more beneficial, in his physical appearance aspect anyways. His friend was overly excited sending away Seungkwan's personal tailor and stylist to fuss over Seungkwan's clothes himself, even if he knew absolutely nothing about it. Even Seungkwan, with his parents’ expertise, knew more. 

The three of them were just staying there in Seungkwan's overly glorified walk-in-closet, anticipating the moment of Seungkwan's showcase. So the trio fell into substance less idle prattle with one another. Of course the other two could've easily left, wait instead between the party-goers, stuffing their faces full of the never-ending buffet. But then Seungkwan would probably whine petulantly and shamelessly until they felt guilty enough to return, and nobody needed that type of embarrassment tonight. Still, Seungkwan love-hate how slow-witted his friends could be. 

He was worried, there was nothing he could do but rely on his parents’ quick-wittedness to make something up for him to pass as a mutant tonight. Even if sometimes he felt that his parents were untouchable on accounts of the amount of influence that they possessed, they still weren't miracle workers who could just bend biology at the drop of a hat, and that made him terrified. Terrified enough to ask for advice from thing one and thing two hanging about inside the room, but at last, the two served him no purpose.

He wanted – no, _needed_ Vernon to be there. Unfortunately, his caramel-headed friend wouldn't be making an appearance at his party, the boy being halfway across the world on a study trip in Germany. He was invited by a small group of elite scientists who had seen the potential inside Vernon and had gladly taken the boy with them. It's been a month, and Seungkwan incredibly missed him.

There was several knocks at the door, and Seungkwan's heart skipped a bit, for a split second he thought that Vernon might've come home early to surprise him. But as Mingyu greeted whoever it was imploring for entrance, Seungkwan knew just by the delicately paced steps of the person beyond the door that it wasn't Vernon, but it was his other friend who had thankfully made it to the party.

"Hey Josh," Seungkwan greeted, the boy nodding his head in acknowledgement before draping himself elegantly next to Mingyu. He grabbed one of the martinis on the white marble table next to the stacks of shoes, and sipped it slowly, making himself comfortable. Joshua was wearing burgundy tonight, his velvet suite almost shimmering underneath the ambient light of the room.

With Mingyu in forest-green ensemble and Joshua's red one, the two of them sitting next to each other hilariously reminded Seungkwan of Christmas. He giggled to himself imagining Christmas decoration, voicing his thoughts and receiving a couple of chuckles from his friends (except for Mingyu, who pouted)

"Glad you could make it, I was beginning to miss the existence of brain cells within our group." He glared at Mingyu through the reflection specifically, who retaliated by sticking his tongued out.

"Did you just admit that without me here there are no brain cells? As in, you don't have any either," Joshua quipped, and that finally drew a cackle out of Mingyu.

"Shut up, stupid!" Seungkwan shouted.

"You shut up," Mingyu countered.

"Nervous?" Joshua pointed calmly, his maturity showing. 

Seokmin had already moved on, once again, choosing to try out Seungkwan's shoes and throwing it haphazardly away once he decided he disliked it. Mingyu was yawning, still holding onto the martini glass. And Seungkwan was loosening and retying his tie for the umpteenth time since Joshua entered the room. It was clear that the dynamic of the group was thrown off, every single one of them worried for Seungkwan. 

To them it was no secret that Seungkwan was human, having screened with the best of technologies money can buy and finding no evidence of mutagene existing anywhere within his body. He was turning twenty as well in a few months, there was literally no possibility he was a late bloomer. He was just... _human_ – plain and simple.

This won't work though, not for their egocentric lifestyle.

Joshua noticed the blush that Seungkwan was sporting, creeping up his neck from his frustrations. Also noticed the sporadic way Seungkwan's eyes twitches every now and again, the tension in his hardset jaw, and the younger's building perspiration, even noticed the insignificant details like the stuttering palpitation of Seungkwan's heart, beating away at his ribcage. Seungkwan might be surprisingly proficient in concealing his true emotions – a necessary skill to possess if you want to survive in this elite society, but he could never hide his nervous tendencies from Joshua. Nobody could, it was the boy's ability.

"Don't be nervous, okay Seungkwan? Everybody here in this room supports you. You know how clever your parents are, they have a plan, I'm sure it'll all work out."

Seungkwan detested how kindly-spoken his friend was sometimes. It made it harder for him to smack the older boy in the face for being correct.

Still, even though some of his worries had subsided by Joshua's comforting words, he still couldn't find it within himself to reign in his galloping heart.

Sometimes he was envious of his friend, of Mingyu and Seokmin, even at Joshua who was comparatively not as wealthy as the three of them were. Mingyu had discovered his ability from an early age, accidentally throwing his nanny down stares with just one singular arm, resulting in his parents bribing her and making the problem disappear. The incident was received as a celebratory at the Kim's estate. They excitedly and pride fully celebrated Mingyu's showcase party only a couple days after the incident. Mingyu could barely even speak coherently at that age, but the Kim's were far too ecstatic to let it stop them. That's how Mingyu was hailed as the youngest elite to receive a showcase, even though the powers he had showcased had been less than satisfactory for the other elites. There was no use for super-strength, a dangerous and quite uncontrollable ability that proved to be more of a hindrance to the Kim's than and asset since they had to teach their son to be extra delicate, so they wouldn't have lawsuits of people wanting their broken things or limbs to be compensated coming their way. It didn't help either that Mingyu was kind of a walking disaster, him and his ability was the literal definition of hell on earth. Still, even with all the negative side, came the positives; Mingyu had ability, he was a mutant, and because of that he was readily accepted into the community.

Then there was Seokmin, the second friend that he knew the longest. With his bright and sunshiny personality Seokmin delighted everybody around him. That aspect alone should be enough to propel Seokmin into success, but of course on top of that he was a mutant, one with an especially useful ability as well. The fact that his parents were the owner of one of the largest tech company in the country was a very lucky coincidence considering Seokmin's mutated ability as a transducer. With his ability Seokmin automatically had quite a bit of an understanding for technology since he's able to offhandedly access electromagnetic wavelengths; Seokmin could work technology in numerous ways with very minimal effort that the fact that Seokmin was not the sharpest tool in the shed was more than made up for. He was the luckiest of the bunch, Seungkwan thought.

Lastly there was Joshua, who'd looked at him with such an understanding and sincere expression when they first met that Seungkwan couldn't believe Joshua was an elite. Which was almost true, Joshua wasn't as filthy rich as the rest of them in the room, but of course he was well off enough to not be turned away when showing at Seungkwan's mansion. Joshua had been born with the ability of enhance senses, which explains why he has such a well-mannered personality. He could read people from all the way across the room, and even if he's not a mind reader, Joshua was perceptive enough to delicately dance around people's emotions, before tackling it head on once he knew how to approach the situation. That made Joshua lucky too.

Seungkwan couldn't even begin to get into Vernon and his whole ordeal (rich and a genius, not to mention his ability complemented his vested interest in science incredibly well)

This was why none of his friend could understand, the feeling of suffocation every time one of the powerful people his parents surrounded themselves with questioned him on his ability; his throat immediately seizing, impeding the airflow, resulting in him choking-out an excuse to escape. He couldn't keep hiding his human status forever, and tonight was the night where his future would be determined; whether or not he was going to survive.

He hoped whatever plan his parents were planning to pull out of their asses would be something so spectacularly clever that it'll fool even the mind readers in the crowd. He defended his life on it.

*

Jeonghan bandaged what's left of his blistering skin back onto his arm, he didn't know the inner mechanism of his healing abilities but he's positive that however it worked it wouldn't left an unnecessary piece of skin just hanging off his limb. Decidedly finished with his self-induced medical triage Jeonghan planted himself onto his mattress to see what Soonyoung was incredibly interested in examining via his laptop.

"Are you gonna tell me what exactly it is you need my Wi-Fi for, or are you just that worried about me that you need to sleep over at my place?"

Soonyoung cheekily grinned as an answer, truthfully it was both. He didn't want to be alone in his claustrophobically cramped apartment, even though it was only across the hall; he wanted to be here to determine if his older friend was alright. He'd witnessed how far down Jeonghan had fallen, heard his whimpering grunts. This didn't even mention the part where there was a guy – two guys, that spontaneously combusted in front of them. So really, nobody could blame Soonyoung for being overprotective. The Wi-Fi thing was just another excuse for him, needing to check on the work they had previously done and to gather more information pertaining the bodyguard who set himself ablaze.

Soonyoung's line of work revolved around computers and the internet just as much as it revolved around him being an excellent strategist, but unfortunately the world wasn't easy to navigate and so they had to be extremely strategic in obtaining access to the internet. Jeonghan had fought for the extraordinarily tiny, dilapidated, irreparably ramshackle apartment alongside Chan, not because of the nonexistent water pressure, or because of their fictional steady running electricity – no, every apartment south of the city had those, that's what being in the slums was all about. Jeonghan chose the apartment because of one thing that other slumrats were ignorant (involuntarily so, don't get Jeonghan wrong) of, and it was the free Wi-Fi. He had found this out when he was squatting in that very apartment and had gotten a ping on his stolen phone that asked him if he wanted to connect to the Wi-Fi.

Yes, he sure as hell did.

There was an area in Jeonghan's apartment, just in the corner of the room that miraculously caught the Wi-Fi from the Lee Tech Company tower. It took Jeonghan ages to discover the areas of his apartment, specifically mapping where the signal was strongest, and it took Jeonghan longer to figure out what the passcode was. Well, he didn't really figure it out, Soonyoung did, that's how the two met after all.

Soonyoung was the only other slumrat interested in the apartment specifically because of that Wi-Fi. Growing up, Soonyoung was especislly interested in technology and the internet - not just because of its ordinary function, instead he was interested because he was curious to discover how things work. He used to pick-apart mechanical objects in his parents garage (or at least he thought it was his parents, he didn't really remember much of the time he had parents), and after he was bored with that he would pick-apart different information he could find inside the computer. That's how he had gotten indescribably proficient at hacking, and that's how he eventually turned to make a living off of it. 

He needed the Wi-Fi though. Unfortunately, He was outbid by Jeonghan and had to resort to politeness and propriety techniques to get on the older's good side enough to gain access inside the apartment. This had succeeded surprisingly well. 

He could lie to himself all he wanted but Jeonghan always had a soft spot for the bright-eyed young slumrats that lived in the worst section of the city, that's why he was heralded as their angel. The one who secretly buy them clothes and food and made a big fuss about not wanting to do so and that it wasn't because of the kindness of his heart, even though it actually was but he just didn't want to be viewed as delicate. He couldn't afford having attachments beyond a working partnership, not when those people might not survive until the next sunrise.

Chan was proof of that. Jeonghan missed the little one.

"Okay, I got it."

"What'd you got?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Jeonghan glared at Soonyoung.

"I mean, the guy didn't have mutagene inside him to begin with, look –“he showed the laptop to Jeonghan, the screen reflecting blue light onto his face, the screen showing the bodyguard's medical information.

Soonyoung was right. The guy had a colon cancer scare a couple years back and had insisted to use his insurance to get a full-body examination at the hospital. The first thing that they always screen for was the mutagene, even the dormant ones that were unlikely to trigger, and there was _nothing._ Not even his parents, or grandparents, or even great grandparents possessed mutagene.

He wasn't a mutant, then – 

"How did he –"

"It was something else," Jeonghan butted in. He remembered the first several lines of conversation being thrown around in between the two bodyguards, coincidentally overhearing something along the lines of an unassuming pill that could potentially aided their situation. Jeonghan relayed this information to Soonyoung who frowned.

"What kind of pill could give someone mutagene?" Soonyoung asked, and then sighed when he realized that he should've collected the bodyguard's DNA before running away. Not that either could've checked it, they definitely didn't have the technology for that, but maybe they could break into someone's house that possessed it.

"I don't know." Jeonghan was thoroughly freaked out. He didn't want to know what the existence of this pill could mean when it came to surviving the slums. Would it make it extremely more difficult for them to evade repercussions? Most people who resided in the slums and the ones who were unafraid enough to frequent it were never really mutants. In this part of town, being born a mutant was quite a rarity, since the elites had long monopolized the mutagene so it'll stay in their lineage, forever giving them an upper hand in the world. Of course there were a few outliers, that's how people like Jeonghan, Soonyoung, and Chan existed. But that only happen occasionally, rarely. But if everyone could have an ability, this could throw everything off balance, and Jeonghan was unsure if it's a positive or a negative thing.

"Whatever that pill was it couldn't have been stable right? – I mean the guy blew up, remember?" Jeonghan thought that, _yeah,_ he remembered – he didn't think he could ever forget. The image would undoubtedly be stuck replaying inside his nightmares for weeks.

"I-"

_ping_

Jeonghan almost forgot that he also owned a cellphone. He crawled over to the side of the bed where he usually deposited the device, unlocking the phone. The screen was with spider-webbing cracks from how much running, bumping, bouncing, and jumping Jeonghan's required to do to escape his targets' wrath. Thankfully, everything still seemed to work. Glowing to life the phone pings again as another message filter in.

"Who is it?" Soonyoung asked, leaning his chin on Jeonghan's shoulder too see for himself. Second later squealing- "Oh, Joshua Hyung!"

Joshua was one of the people Jeonghan had tried to screw over at one of the more elegant bar located in the slums. This was before he met Soonyoung, so he couldn't have run a background check on his target like he did currently. He just went into things blindly, crossing everything in his body, hoping that whoever his target was, wasn't a mutant. Most of the time they weren't (again, the slums after all), but the one time it did it was Joshua. One of the luckiest moments Jeonghan could've encountered.

Jeonghan's fingers were already halfway inside Joshua's pocket when the gentlemanly boy seized his hand, delicately pulling it out. "I don't think you wanna do that," he had reprimanded, and Jeonghan was shocked still, unable to run away like he usually did in similar situations. "The reason why I invited you to my booth is because I thought you looked really uncomfortable, so here, I'll buy you a drink and let's talk because you seem kinda interesting."

The night had gone from undercover mission to an impromptu date-night that resulted in Jeonghan gaining a new (affluent) friend. Joshua was really kindhearted, never once talking down to the klepto slumrat, and always answering in earnest understanding. From there Jeonghan discovered Joshua was the son of a business man who's company just recently skyrocketed, Joshua was there as a representative of his Father's company who was interested in building a branch store in the slums so they could create more job opportunities there, and lastly Jeonghan found out Joshua was a mutant. One who could spot a lie instantly by observing people's slight mannerism, and that's why even at such a young age he was able to become a representative.

Ever since then the two kept in contact, Joshua occasionally visited the slums dressed in a less high-end fashion then he usually does (after Jeonghan reprimanded him for it of course), bearing some sort of gift for both Jeonghan and Chan and then eventually Soonyoung, in hand. Jeonghan had refused at first, he might be a slumrat who regularly let men feel him up so he could bleed all of them dry of all their money, but he had his pride. And pity didn't look good against Jeonghan cold and steely repertoire. That's why Joshua scaled back on the offerings; showing up with food he stole from business parties or little prototype trinkets he acquired from visiting different factories instead of buying something semi-lavish for Jeonghan and company.

Joshua was currently texting him about yet another party, this one a showcase party that Jeonghan had heard so much about and still hated to this day. Why go through so much trouble just to brag? Jeonghan didn't think he could ever understand influential people.

What he did understand though was a picture of a luxurious buffet when he saw one. The braised pork ribs caught his attention instantly; his fingers were practically flying on the keys with how much he mouth-wateringly wanted that food.

Jh: YES! YES PLEEEASEE!!

Js: Okay then

Js: Ill bring it over tomorrow

"Joshua's coming over tomorrow? We should probably try and clean up now right?" 

Jeonghan nodded, rolling over onto his back, stretching like a cat. "Yup, so you go do that, I'm just going to sleep. Being chased by a man on fire is exhausting." He yawned and rolled his head onto the pillow, sleep already overtaking him.

Soonyoung shook his head fondly, moving to stand up to begin cleaning up as Jeonghan instructed, he wanted the older to sleep after such a harrowing day. Not to mention the other's ability was quite energy depleting, so Jeonghan required sleep if he was going to wake up tomorrow.

Still, he couldn't resist muttering a, "Lazy-ass." Under his breath, resulting in Jeonghan throwing whatever's closest at him.

"Fucker." 

Soonyoung giggled ending their eventfully day by drifting calmly into unconsciousness, hoping no nightmares conjured within them.

*

Seungkwan could feel the anticipation thrumming in the atmosphere surrounding him. It felt like milliseconds had trickle by after his parents had startlingly invaded his walk-in closet, grabbing, and fussing over him, before shoving their beloved son behind a deep-crimson velvet curtain. He waited there like a deer in headlights, his parents frantically shoving a pill inside his fist, firmly instructing him to place it within his mouth, swallowing only on their cue.

He was confused on how a pill would aid him in deceiving a mansion full of judgmental guess, but he didn't have any option aside from following the instruction

The congregation was expectant behind the curtain. Seokmin, Mingyu, and Joshua had migrated to an area in the back corner, beside the buffet that the other elites seemed to reluctantly ghost over, only occasionally picking up an hors d'oeuvre or two throughout the night. That's one thing that Joshua couldn't get accustomed to whilst climbing the social latter, the way people would refuse to consume anything in the presence of others like it somehow made them appear less gluttonous than they actually were. _They'd drop millions just for a t-shirt for fuck sake; the least they could do was enjoy the delicious buffet like a normal person._ That's why he loved bringing Jeonghan food, the other always stuffing himself full of anything that smells remotely delicious; it was quite refreshing to witness such an ordinary reaction.

Which reminded him - Joshua fished out his phone and began texting, taking pictures of the buffet and receiving judgmental looks from the guess surrounding him, not that he cared much.

But Mingyu did, leaning in to whisper to Joshua's ear. "Uhm, what're you doing."

Joshua shrugged. "Texting a friend." Mingyu raised an incredulous brow but didn't make any further commentary. 

"Guys, I think Seungkwan's about to come on." Seokmin directed their attention.

The deep-crimson velvet curtains opened to reveal Seungkwan, standing there squinting at the headlights above him, his fist tightly clenched to his side, preventing him from doing something embarrassing like shielding his eyes. By this time the unassuming, supposedly life-saving pill that was thrust upon him had migrated from being clutched inside his fist to inside his mouth that's all but gone dry.

He was nervous, trembling from his fingertips down to his tremulous legs. There were a million probabilities that something might go wrong right this instance. He could step forward, falling face-first before the massive gathering of audience. He could accidently swallow the pill prematurely, effectively ruining the plan his parents had concocted. And worst yet, the plan could fail miserably and he'd stand there like an idiot, exposed before a community of diamond-wearing sycophants for being human. He'll be ostracized in seconds; his parents wouldn't even bat an eye whilst they carded him out.

He wanted to shout for his mother's comfort, but she was looking at him expectantly, with just a little nervousness glinting her eyes. It's almost unnerving seeing those expressions on his parents face – examining him like he was nothing but a bug under a microscope.

"Ladies and gentleman –" the person the Boo's hired to MC the night started. Seungkwan for the life of him couldn't hear a anything that's being uttered pertaining him. He registered some of the money-hungry patrons chuckling at something that the MC announced, compelling Seungkwan to give an awkward smile in return, not knowing what he's laughing at. Was it himself? Was he the center of the joke? The words spilling out of the MC's mouth sounded muffled, like he was underwater, a thick glass separating Seungkwan from everybody else like he was an animal being examined. He could feel his fingers starting to tremble and he discreetly tried putting it behind him, his eyes already searching the crowd to find his friends from in between them.

Joshua was the first to make eye contact, already noticing Seungkwan's rapidly racing heartbeat, he was concerned that his friend might collapsed from a heart attack. He smiled encouragingly anyways, hoping to subside Seungkwan's nervousness. Mingyu too, waved his hand mindlessly like an idiot, throwing a toothy smile as both he and Seokmin gave Seungkwan two sets of thumbs up.

How is it that out of the three of them, Joshua was the last to join the elite community?

Keeping an eye out for Seungkwan and at an ear out to the crowd, Joshua prompted again for Seungkwan to not be anxious.

Seungkwan noticed their encouragements and his overwhelming anxiety subsided at least a little because of them. Even if he was unlucky enough to be born human in such an unforgiving environment, he was at least lucky enough to have friends that still supported him despite it.

Cutting in focus just in time, Seungkwan heard the prompt words being uttered by the MC. Quickly he swallowed the pill, his throat closing up, it was Sahara dry and it felt like forever before the pill finally dislodged itself from his windpipe. He could practically follow the descent of said pill from sliding down the back of his throat, all the way down into his stomach where it's being burned by acid and then – 

He felt his stomach bubbling up, there were things happening inside him that he couldn't completely understand. He stepped up underneath the blindingly bright spotlight, just barely making it without combusting into a puddle of anxious sweat and tears. He saw his parents fronting the crowd, smiling at him completely robotically, eyes conveying a message that Seungkwan should do... _something?_ Whatever that thing was Seungkwan didn't know. He felt a nervous chuckle escape his mouth and the scrutinizing glares of the ravenous hyenas before him became sharper.

What was he supposed to do? All his parents instructed was that he needed to trust them, trust the pill, to swallow it right at the specific time that they told him. Nothing was happening and Seungkwan was confused.

This was it, his biggest nightmare coming true. This was going to be the horrific moment he'll be expose to the entire community. He felt fear gripped his spine, he was about to collapse. He desired nothing more than to disappear right now, evade repercussion by never returning and then-

The crowd gasped, and Seungkwan hadn't realized he'd squeezed his eyes shut incredibly tightly that when he opened them the lights above him were blinding, almost over stimulating.

Once he'd adjusted to it he automatically examined the crowd, reattaching his gaze to the people who cared about him, his friends, he expected them to still maintain their encouraging and supporting gaze, but what he saw instead were three pairs of orbs glistening with disbelieve. It surprised Seungkwan enough that he ended up tripping over his clumsy feet, landing on his ass with a reverberating thud.

The crowd gasped again, the room turning silent as two guards approached Seungkwan to help him up. But as his hand come up to take one of the guard's held out one, he saw nothing.

Nothing.

"What the –" Seungkwan rasped, watching his arm flickering in and out of visibility. His ears were ringing as he stood back up, still looking disbelievingly at his unstable appearance, doing a terrible job pretending to be someome who always had this kind of ability throughout his entire life. He couldn't give a shit though, he was fucking _invisible._

The crowd erupted into applause, more out of propriety than genuine excitement, but Seungkwan couldn't care less. With his arms outstretched beside him he puffed up his chest, letting the praises the crowd was showering him with reached his ears. He had never felt so relieved in his life before.

He took his last bow, the curtains coming to conceal him from prying curious eyes, his friends already frantically running from across the room to reach him.

Seungkwan took several deep breathes subsiding the adrenaline inside his system, standing there in absolute darkness, a far cry from the spotlight he was bathed in just moments ago. He felt his heartbeat finally receding into a steady palpitation and his lungs releasing its constriction of his oxygen supply. He could finally breathe easily again, his task was finished, his worries had passed.

_What was that thing?_

"Seungkwan!" Mingyu shouted, his three friends coming to a stop in front of him. "Was that actually you, you bastard?" Mingyu shoved at Seungkwan, maybe a little too hard, sending Seungkwan stumbling backwards from the force.

He would've blew up on his airheaded cavemen friend right there, the way he usually would when the meathead was absentminded enough to not keep his super-strength in mind, but he couldn't muster it right then. He was already too relieved, his muscles very relaxed, to just suddenly get angry.

"Woah," Seokmin breathed, watching as Seungkwan once again flicker and out of existence. "It's like you're a chameleon or something."

"Are you a mutant now?" Joshua asked, actually warily questioning things, less excited with the development than others.

"No, unfortunately not," the stern voice that came from behind the boys were accompanied by the click-clack sound of high heels and the dull thumping of a pair of loafers.

Seungkwan's parents came up from behind them, smiling politely, nodding their head's lightly in acknowledgement of the boys who parted like the Dead Sea for them.

"That was the overdrive pill; we got it from one of our informants in the slums. They reported some sort of pill in the market that could turn you into a mutant, but only for five minutes," his mother explained.

 _Five minutes, so not forever._ Seungkwan couldn't help the lump of disappointment that lodged itself back in his throat.

"Oh," he whispered dejectedly to the ground. Of course it was all too good to be true.

His father put a hand on his shoulder in a useless attempt to console him. "You did great son, all you need to do now is mingle with the people at the party, okay?"

Seungkwan nodded, the three friends who stood circling him could feel the disappointment radiating from him in waves.

"Wait but what if people ask me to do it again?" He didn't want to humiliate himself right after he thought he had evaded his problems.

"Don't worry, we already explain that your powers causes fatigue, you probably couldn't do it again tonight. - You falling over helped sold it too," His mother explained with such a practice ease that Seungkwan was starkly reminded of what world he was living in, the game that he had to play just to save face.

"Okay." His misery had returned.

"Good, we're going to go and close a business deal upstairs; you boys go ahead and enjoy the party."

A chorus of “Yes ma’am." Came before Seungkwan's parents turned around, leaving him again. His friends crowded him instantly, resting their sympathetic hands on his shoulders. It didn't do absolutely anything to relief his disappointment.

"I'm sorry," mumbled Mingyu, who repositioned himself behind Seungkwan, hugging him tightly, comfortingly.

"its fine," Seungkwan lied. He was disappointed; being led into believing his problem was going to disappear, sending his troubles far away, only for that solution to be ripped away five minutes after. If felt devastatingly cruel, but he'll survive. That was mostly his life before the five minute overdrive anyways.

"Come on, let's join the party." The four of them took Joshua's suggestion, rejoining the suffocating commotion of the party.

They dance dissimilar to the elegant music that was being played, uncaring of the snide looks that came their way just as long as Seungkwan felt happy and consoled. They had fun just moving around in circles, teasing one another, stealing champagne and petit fours from the trays that were floating around the ballroom.

Seungkwan might've felt devastated, but he was happy to finally get his showcase over and done with. Now he could finally focus his attention on _not_ being a petulant bitch to his friends.

He attempted to convey his gratefulness through the smile never reaching his eyes, catching both Seokmin and Mingyu's attention who smile sadly back. Joshua's attention was somewhere else though; he had stopped dancing, his ears prickling in attention at the conversation that were happening somewhere in the crowd.

"Really, they didn't think we would fall for that now would they?" Joshua caught someone said.

"Right, until he does it again and again, we'll know for sure then it's not overdrive."

Joshua diverted his attention back to Seungkwan who was already staring at him, without saying anything, Seungkwan knew that trouble was still imminent and the four of them needed to anticipate it.

_What exactly is overdrive?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anybody's confuse about DK's trancducer powers, i basically stole it from Gary from the Alphas tv show. Theres an explenation at 1:13 : [HERE](https://youtu.be/V41R4vFvYe8)  
> .  
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> Comments r always appreciated  
> Chapter title from Fall Out Boy - Pavlove <3


	4. In the Dark No One Hides but Me

Chan awaken with a startled gasp, for a second the blinding overhead light showered the unfamiliar room reflecting colorless clinical-white. Momentarily he was back, constricted onto the gurney, in an unfamiliar place, seeing faces enveloped in medical masks looming over him whilst an unsteady beeping noise increased and decreased according to his heartbeat. But there were several things different currently that his nightmare didn't possess; for one, his limbs weren't constricted by anything but a thick comforter, and for two, once his eyes adjusted to the blindingly bright morning light he realized that the room was much more colorful than his eyes could initially perceived.

 _That's right,_ he remembered, he was at Detective Seungcheol's house.

Panting, he took a second to familiarize himself with this new surroundings. The subtle mint-colored wallpaper lining the room accompanied well the homey sepia toned decorations and the furniture sporadically located everywhere. It gave an elegant atmosphere whilst not being overly grandiloquent that people like him would immediately feel unwelcomed if they prolonged their stay. Chan decidedly liked the place, sleeping on a soft but firm mattress must've done wonders to his attitude because he didn't feel as annoyed as he was yesterday.

A dull rapping on the door drew Chan's attention towards it. He heard feet scratching hesitantly on the linoleum. "Uhm, are you okay in there? I heard gasping," came detective Seungcheol worried voice.

"Yeah."

"O-okay then, there's breakfast so – come out when you're ready." 

Seungcheol winced from behind the door; he didn't know what the protocol was for having a stranger – a practical child, stay over at his apartment. He didn't enjoy the way it's compelling him to tiptoe tentatively around his own home. Seungcheol had gone too long not talking to strangers in an interrogative manner, his head always in the game. This whole experience just showed that he probably needed more friends than just his two coworkers if he wanted to interact with people normally. It's too bad he left his past friends behind.

"Dude, stop standing there just waiting for the kid to come out, eat first," Junhui scolded, having kindly be the one to cook them breakfast and made them coffee. He shoved one of the plates of omelets towards Seungcheol, giving his partner a pointed look before returning to the phone he was previously engrossed in. _"Eat,"_ he instructed when all Seungcheol did was stare.

"Who are you texting?"

"Who are you to ask?" Junhui offhandedly quipped, eyes never leaving the phone.

But his ears were bright red.

"Your friend. Is this the same person you've been texting with?" Junhui shrugged nonchalantly a weird gesture to make for somebody blushing as brightly as a tomato. Well at least Junhui wasn't frowning at the phone anymore.

"Hey, we don't have anything else for today after dropping the boy off right? Because I think I might have something to do later," Junhui asked, immediately regretting it when Seungcheol gave him _that_ look, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis. “You know what, never mind." There would've been more time if there wasn't a ginormous break in the case. Now, even against Chan's will, they have to escort the boy home, although Seungcheol already promised himself to use Junhui's personal car instead, to at least fulfill some of Chan's wishes.

Junhui didn't mind, as long as there's time. He quickly shot whoever it was a reply before pocketing his phone back, finally enjoying his own breakfast with a predictably dazed smile plastering his face.

_Minghao_

Junhui glared at Seungcheol _Fuck off._

"Hey, it's your own fault for thinking too loud." Seungcheol defended hand coming to cover himself, his partner attempted to smack him by leaning over.

A ping went off in Seungcheol's back pocket at the same time as Junhui's. It was a text from the Captain, an assertive instruction.

"Nope," Seungcheol sighed disappointedly. "We got nothing else to do after."

At the mention of work, or lack thereof, Seungcheol immediately reverted back to earlier that day. The abandoned hospital that they visited were raided by the agency just before dawn transformed into morning, and now the Captain was instructing them to surrender their investigation, for now it had gotten bigger for the two rookies to possibly handle. 

It didn't sit right with Seungcheol. Ones they've started something, he was obligated to resolve it. Not to mention recently the crime rate in the city have been increasing, mutants everywhere started surfacing, committing bank robberies, petty theft, and even jail breaking. It was peculiar since most of the mutant population were predominantly wealthy people; there was no need for them to commit such pointless crimes. And they probably didn't associate with people who were incarcerated, let alone be willing to jailbreak them.

It's not that crimes conducted by mutants were rare or the elites were absolved of committing said crimes – it’s just that most of the crimes transpired were the kinds that happened behind the scenes, like corruption, organized crimes, things that needed meticulous planning on top of abilities. That's why the agency was the way it was, the detectives were mostly mutants because they mainly caught mutants and revolve themself around mutant cases, and the police were mostly humans that deals with other humans in the city who mostly do petty crimes.

These were unbelievable times, the agency was overwhelmed. The detectives and officers were already spread thin enough; the cops were busy handling the petty theft and the detectives were depleted to investigating new cases that's been appearing. The agency was exhausted of resources; they shouldn't pigeonhole the rookies on the sidelines in an emergency like this. That was what Seungcheol thought – that and the fact that Seungcheol felt responsible. If anything, he wanted to obtain the answer to the mystery just so he could give the boy in his bedroom some peace of mind.

It didn't go unnoticed to Seungcheol, the way the boy whimpered, afraid of his nightmares throughout the night. It even continued until the two partners returned from their little hospital visit. Junhui had to calm the boy's mind several times. Seungcheol knew referring to his houseguest as a kid in his head was a little ridiculous, considering the other only being four years younger than himself. He's also pretty confident the harrowing experience the boy went through must've aged him by a lot. Not just the kidnapping but the way his life were before, it must be difficult growing up an orphan in the slums.

Seungcheol didn't realize he was working himself up yet again until Junhui rested a hand on his shoulder and the knotting tension he's been constructing in his back dissolved.

"Thanks."

"Hmm." Junhui fondly shook his head.

The door clicked open behind them, revealing Chan dressed in one of Seungcheol's smaller sized shirt and cargo pants that he'd left out for the boy.

"Morning," Seungcheol greeted, well morning was relative at that point, with the sun already high in the sky. He sat, watching the boy kept his head down, walking to sit tentatively beside Seungcheol on the countertop.

He didn't say anything but he accepted the plate Junhui glided towards him, drawing it closer to his chest in an almost habitual protective motion.

"Sleep well?" Seungcheol asked, knowing well what the answer was but wanting to idly converse anyways.

"Hmm." Was all that he got as an answer, and they fell into silence together, the awkward tension in the room growing. Seungcheol knew the layer of mistrust was palpably surrounding the boy. Maybe he shouldn't have forcibly made him unconscious, but at least the boy wasn't angry. Which the detective thought would be the other's initial reaction.

Junhui sighed, here goes nothing. "Well Chan – here’s the thing. There's been a development in the case, so we have to send you home."

"I'll go home myself," Chan was quick to answer.

"We can't let you do that, we need you."

Seungcheol knew this was going to be difficult, but he'll try. He owed Chan that. "We'll take you with Junhui's car – _personal_ car. Nobody would know."

Chan deflated, there wasn't really much fight left in him. He missed his home, he wanted to return. The only worries he did have was how being accompanied back with two detectives might affect him as a slumrat, nobody in the slums were ever forgiving. "Stop reading my head without permission," Chan petulantly said instead. He hated how easily he surrendered.

He just missed Jeonghan.

"I'm sorry."

"Okay, We might need you to come in again when we make progress on the case, so –" Junhui questioned, careful not to divulge too much unnecessary information about what they'd discovered at dawn.

"I don't have a phone, but my big brother does, if he still has it." With how easily everything breaks around the slums, he highly doubted it. But who knows, maybe for once their family would be on the receiving end of a miracle.

The grumbling of his stomach cut through his thought, Chan couldn't even begin to think how long had he gone without sustenance.

"Eat." Seungcheol slid the plate closer to the younger who'd been preoccupied with protecting his breakfast instead of consuming it.

Chan reluctantly did as instructed, regretting losing his composure immediately when he shoveled more eggs into his mouth before he'd swallowed the one before, letting out a content hum.

"Good?" Chan glared, Seungcheol should've expected that. Chuckling nervously he scrambled for a new topic. "Oh! – uhm, so...You have a big brother?" Seungcheol studied all information they got on Chan and who he was, knew that he was an orphan from the slums that had a couple of track records to his name, but nowhere in his files did it mentioned anything about a brother.

"He took care of me since we were kids." Apparently filling food loosened up Chan's mouth greatly.

Seungcheol hummed, so he meant it more as a caretaker.

Just then Seungcheol was overcame with a flash of somebody's face, smiling brightly, their long copper-colored hair swaying in the wind, and Seungcheol got a name.

"Jeonghan?"

The sound of slamming utensil reverberated through the tiny living room. "I told you to stop looking inside my head! - What else did yo –"

"Hey," Seungcheol placated, palms open in front of him attempting to calm Chan down. He was already standing on his feet a careful distance away from the detective’s right. /Well that's a step backwards "I apologize, I didn't mean to - It's just sometimes if someone near me have a very emotional thought, my abilities just can't help picking it up."

Chan eyed the two detectives hesitantly, but he saw the earnest look in Seungcheol’s large doe-eyes and reluctantly uncurled himself. "Okay, just...don't do it again." He didn’t trust the detective, not by a long shot, but maybe if he played along he'll get to be absolved of this situation quickly.

"Okay."

Chan sat back down on his seat, feeling just about ready to go home.

"Look at least now I know who I'm dropping you off to, right?"

*

Minghao took a sip from the flask hidden inside his jacket pocket. The sun was scorching today, radiating down onto the roof of his beat up 1546 classic bright-red mustang that he fortunately managed to afford to restore from the junkyard. The money he made working as a bodyguard for the most notorious crime organizations in the city more than lavishly fulfilled his needs. It was almost perfect, he was a freelancing bodyguard, compensated for every occasion and projects he was brought onto, and gone without a trace the next. He did have to agonize about the constriction of navigating inside a dangerous crime organization, but still, his income was very much fulfilling. He could take care of himself, he was good at his job, and that's why they've hired him for more.

Red light.

He halted and took the time to answer the texts he's been receiving from his boyfriend, sending a photo that he captured himself this morning. It wasn't scandalous or anything, it was just him posing in a mirror with his red bomber jacket, the one with the thick black stripe running across the back and a large eight-ball patch sown in the middle of it. He wore black ripped jeans and a white t-shirt underneath, sporting his glasses that doubled as sunglasses. He thought he looked incredible, maybe even incredible enough for a distraction from the subject they were arguing about since this morning.

It's not that he detested the thought of moving in. It's just that he hated depending on anybody's money, that and the fact that their jobs practically ran opposites with each other; it would be dangerous if they live in the same apartment.

_ping_

It worked.

Green light. 

Honking, he waited for the old lady in the vehicle in front of him to move, flickering on his car radio that landed on a random station. The sound that came blasting from the speaker was staticky and instead of the regular charting music playing there were two people conversing about something, sounding semi-professional as they discuss it.

Minghao realized a minute late that they were talking about the upcoming election.

"Yes well, we all know where this is going."

"And where is it David?"

"Nobody wants a military service honing in on mutants, I mean do you? _Do you?"_

There were a couple choruses of no's reverberated the male broadcaster's way, a resounding and obvious answer. 

"Exactly." 

Minghao sneered, flickering over to another station. 

"Beware of increased mutant cases, if you see anything immediately report –“ 

Minghao flicked the radio off as he made the upcoming turn, sunglasses teetering on the edge of his nose jostling at a bump he hit. 

Well that was a plausible reason maybe the military task force was needed, mutant crime rates have been increasing. Not that he himself wanted it, but compelling reasons have been appearing, and he knew why, he just unanticipated this happening. 

Maybe turning on the radio was a terrible idea; he always gets overly irritated when hearing about politics, especially when Mayor Trask was involved. 

Minghao would give it to him; the mayor was shameless, putting his wager in late in the game, aiming for presidency no less. His campaign was also god-awful, nobody wanted yet _another_ push on mutant regulation policy, everything was already at peace, even if it's tremendously unfair. Besides, it's not like the elites would ever make it easy for the Mayor to win. 

Thinking about the election brought up the memory from his previous assignment. He was hired to guard an underground meeting that he didn't know the topic of. Not that he needed to, he was just there to protect and keep quiet. But he did overhear a couple of passing conversation from inside the room seconds before the door shut behind him. There were several people discussing something about an auction that was going to be conducted alongside a new unveiling of some sort of miracle substance (which Minghao had an idea of what it was) that would transpire just several weeks from now, apparently inside one of the Mayor's newer building, like he didn't have enough with Red Hill's bankruptcy. They said the party's purpose supposedly weren't politically charge, but of course this came from numerous politicians' mouth so he didn't really trust it. 

If the organization he was working for were attempting to do something around that time, then a lot of awful scenarios were about to transpire. Minghao just hoped that he could be discreet enough that he wouldn't get in the crosshairs. 

Making the last turn Minghao finally arrived at his destination, a seemingly abandoned barn smack-dab in the middle of almost nowhere, located in the outskirts of the city. Turning the keys to his ignition, his mustang groaned into a halt, Minghao took the liberty of fixing his hair in the mirror before sauntering out of his mustang, phone clutched tightly as he make absolutely sure what he needed to do. 

Walking up to the wooden door he knocked several times, stepping back and coughing when dust motes flew everywhere from the disturbance. He was beginning to think that he might've gotten the wrong location with how quiet everything was. Regardless he put his knuckle up to the door again to start the series of knocking he was instructed to do if he wanted to be granted access. He did exactly that, feeling stupid on accounts of how childish it was. It's almost like he was a kid playing pretend spies as he go on his pretend mission, using juvenile codes for everything. 

The door creaked open then, startling Minghao who was leaning against the frame. There was nobody to greet him as he enter, which he didn't expect to, but there was a briefcase positions on a rusty metal table ahead of him, one single stream of outdoor light ominously shining upon it. 

The situation looked exactly like out of a horror movie, but at the moment the danger was real for Minghao if he decided to overstay his welcome instead of actually moving forward with the instruction. Stepping up, he walked hurriedly towards the table, grabbing the briefcase and the note right beside it where supposedly a set of instructions and a destination were written inside. 

Not loitering around any longer, Minghao bid the creepy old barn goodbye, returning to his car, reading the instruction before pulling away from the structure completely. 

Sometimes he really detested how hair-raisingly creepy his line of work was. 

* 

The second the wheels of the jet he was on touched the ground, Vernon immediately felt an irresistible compulsion to kiss the ground beneath after the hours-long journey finally ended. He didn't though, remembering his pride and composure over indulging childish behaviors. He was a scientist after all – well, not really, he was only given the opportunity to join scientific organizations for a limited period of time in Germany, but nothing more. It was merely a learning experience for somebody like him who desired becoming a scientist in the near future - hopefully. 

As a kid, growing up came unnaturally fast for Vernon, not in a physical sense but more in an intellectual state. He observed the company his parents had, predicted how long it could possibly sustain running the way it did, and measured what he would have to do in order to succeed in the future. It sounded calculated and heartless, but really, that's how he chose his friends. Seokmin was the first that caught his attention; his parents having a tech company could mean potential future collaborations for him if his friend managed to inherent the company which he probably would. And then there was Mingyu whose parents’ ventures into businesses, buying up other different smaller companies that had nothing to do with one another. Vernon considered that useful enough for him also. Joshua was the last to be introduced to their little friend group, and though Vernon didn't know much about him, the two shared similar interest between each another enough that Vernon really liked him. The fact that Joshua was set to inherent his father's business didn't hurt either. Of course Vernon had more friends outside of the elites, like the ones he met in college where he took up biological science. 

Like Wonwoo, who just texted him right now congratulating him on returning home safely. Vaguely Vernon thought about how his relationship with Mingyu was going, before he left he knew that his two friend's relationship had become strenuous. He wondered if it had survived during his prolonged stay in Germany. He quickly shot a quick discreet text to Wonwoo pertaining it who answered quickly and to the point. 

Not together anymore. 

He read grimacing as he quickly shot back an apology text, diverting instead to Wonwoo's success. 

Vernon was impressed that Wonwoo managed to receive a job at Trask Industry, which was literally the most advance tech company in the world, and it just so happened to be owned by Mayor Trask (if the name sake wasn't obvious enough). It was extremely difficult to acquire even an unpaid internship delivering coffee from one office floor to another there; he didn't know how on earth Wonwoo managed to enter so uncomplicatedly. 

Unlike Vernon, Wonwoo wasn't exactly affluent - he was pretty well off, but his family didn't possess the elite status encompassing their name so he couldn't have cheated his way through monetary advantages (like Vernon did). In addition to that Wonwoo wasn't exactly the smartest person in the world, his grades were amazing from what Vernon could remember, but it wasn't the best, not even the top ten. Don't get him wrong, he thought his friend was an absolute genius, but not the absolute best, especially compared to numerous Trask candidates that got turned down annually. That's why ever since Wonwoo got the job; Vernon had been buttering up his friend in hopes of getting a position there as well. 

He replied to Wonwoos text, conveying his gratitude and that they should meet up, that a discussion about the new tech Wonwoo was making for the company was long overdue. Not a few seconds later he got a confirmation back and a cheeky little comment saying that no, the Trask industry still hasn't had a position open for him yet. 

Vernon grimaced to himself; was he really that obvious? He never really intended to be this power-hungry person who would literally take advantage of everybody of worth surrounding him. He loved Wonwoo, thought of him as an amazing and brilliant companion. He loved his other friends too, ones he had profiled ever since he was a child, determining if they were of any used to him. It sure came across like he was an extremely callus, he wasn't malicious or unsympathetic, he just found it difficult separating business and personal relationships, that's why he couldn't communicate his emotions well. Because as much as Vernon was his own person, he was also a product of the world he was born into. 

Looking outside of the moving vehicle he observed as the people zoomed passed him, trees lining the streets a blur of green and brown monstrosities. The landmarks and skyscraper he used to fawn over as a kid was less towering and less impressive seen through his limousine's tinted window. He felt an ache course through his vein, of guilt for not being as excited as he had to be for being reunited with his hometown. 

He did miss it, some parts of it. 

Seungkwan was the only friend Vernon had acquired without considering the advantages Seungkwan might bring for him. Unlike Mingyu and Seokmin, Seungkwan's parents were in the business of high-end fashion retail. It was a successful business but it had nothing to do with Vernon's fifty year plan. Still, he befriended Seungkwan, and that all came down to one reason and one reason only. 

Seungkwan was amazing. 

Vernon never really liked people who talked too much about things that were ultimately useless, but if the empty words came out of Seungkwan, Vernon thought he wouldn't mind hearing his friend bullshit in his ears forever. Because Seungkwan was just a delight to be around, the vivacious and expressive personality that his friend possesses perfectly complemented the cool and stoic demeanor he was sporting. Vernon appreciated how sensitive Seungkwan was, wanting to do amazing things that he realized himself might not happen with how the world works, but the other was still trying anyways. Like the way he planned to maybe do a program, donating unfit-for-sale clothes to the slums, maybe opening job opportunities as a result if he ever opened a branch. It was quite ambitious and Vernon fully supported that. 

Seungkwan was both as strong-minded as he was sensitive, as kind-hearted as he was sarcastic. It's apparent with every little thing he did. Vernon remembered the time Seungkwan had so adamantly asked him to accompany him to watch a new horror movie at the theaters. Despite Seungkwan being an absolute scaredy-cat when it came to everything ghost and supernatural, he still was brave enough to curiously go. Vernon agreed to come, if not because he really liked spending time with Seungkwan then it was because of the inevitable entertainment he would get to witness from his friend watching a horror movie. 

The night transpired as predicted, Vernon giggled into his arms the whole way through; watching as every time a jump scare happened Seungkwan shouted in surprise, berating the screen for startling him, and then proceeding to shield himself in Vernon's neck, continuing his berating of the on screen ghostly apparitions under his breath. It was entertaining and having Seungkwan cling to him the whole night didn't feel horrible either. 

Vernon noted right then that he should probably ask Seungkwan out to watch another horror movie again. 

Vernon was well aware of how effortlessly affected his friend was, it could sometimes be both a positive and a negative thing. This sensitivity though made Seungkwan vulnerable to self-deprecation, the way generally jubilant people usually do. Seungkwan had a bit of a confidence issue sometimes – nobody ever noticed. Vernon didn't think neither Mingyu, Seokmin, or Joshua realized the extent of it with how much Seungkwan compensated it with his general diva-like sassy behavior, and an unmatchable exaggerated false confidence. But Vernon knew better, had observed throughout the years the microscopic things that made Seungkwan tick and found himself loving the negatives as much as the positives when he consoled the other boy. 

Vernon felt horrible for missing Seungkwan's showcase; he had really wanted to be present for Seungkwan. Who he knew was undoubtedly in disarray throughout the whole ordeal. Being a human amongst the elite would induce such a response. He did received news from his friend that it had been a successful evening and was given a promise of the full story recounting, so he didn't feel too terribly for Seungkwan. 

He missed him though, and all he desired to do then was to crawl up in the other's bed whilst listening to the stories coming out of his mouth, his reason why he wanted to kiss the ground instantly after landing. And if admitting those feelings to himself was simple, then why couldn't he admit it out loud? 

* 

Seungkwan was in the middle of his once-every-couple-of-weeks workout routine, he didn't enjoy feeling depleted and irritated at him ever since the showcase. All he wanted to be was fit in, and experience life without the impending anxiety of being caught. He didn't know why being a human was such a horrible thing in this world but he did know that he was one and was completely okay with it, if it weren't for the fact that he could be persecuted for it - If it weren't for those two party-goers increasing his paranoia. /How did they know about overdrive anyways? 

Since the party, Seungkwan and his friends had decided to find out where the overdrive pill had originated from. Seungkwan needed those pills ready for the rainy days where he'd undoubtedly be demanded by people to prove that he was a mutant. His parents weren't of any assistance; they just said they bought it off of some random person in the slums who claimed that it worked. 

Seungkwan didn't know which part he should be concerned with more, the fact that the source of overdrive most likely couldn't be discovered online since the only source he knew, the slums, was physical - or the fact that his parents gave him a pill sold by a slumrat that might've not work and could probably potentially kill him. 

"Welp." 

"Anything?" 

"Nothing," Seokmin answered, swiping the air around him with his hand, closing the series of windows he'd just opened. It may be looked absurd to everybody else, but Seokmin's abilities to access electronic wavelength was incredibly awesome to Seungkwan. It took Seokmin quite some time to learn how to navigate the internet without some sort of hardware but he managed, growing up amongst technology from his parents company aided in that achievement. 

Seokmin had been searching the internet for information pertaining overdrive, but he couldn't seem to find it being traded or sold anywhere. 

"I don't know, maybe whatever it is, it's only exclusive to the slums," Seokmin suggested. 

Seungkwan looked at his friend upside down, his legs outstretched behind him as he bend his upper half as further back as he could. "But why?" 

"I don't know." 

"Urggh." Seungkwan grunted going down from his pose, lowering himself, unceremoniously splatting onto the mat. He couldn't think and work out at the same time. 

"Don't stop." Mingyu rolled his eyes, trying to make Seungkwan stood back up without accidental crushing him. 

"You're doing great sweetie," Seokmin absentmindedly threw, already opening up another wavelength since he was curious for more information. 

There were a couple of opened police reports from the agency that captured his attention. Crime rates have been increasing this past several weeks; he knew that from watching the news. It seemed there were a couple of reported incidents of super powered people targeting the banks around the southern area near the slums just this morning, he opened the case file expecting to see the regular crime scene of a bank robbery; a couple of broken glasses, an empty vault. What he didn't expect to see was a body – or what was left of it. A mangled pile of what Seokmin assumed to be a corpse, all dismantled and misshapen like a meat grinder went at it, opened up to him in full horrifyingly high-definition glory. 

"Oh my –" he gagged, exiting the pictures in an instant, choosing to instead read the report. 

"What – what is it?" Seungkwan stood up, flicking away Mingyu's hands who were trying to get him into position. 

"Really? You're the one who told me to force you to work out you know."

"Oh ssh, not everyone could be born with stamina and strength like you, you egregiously ginormous tree," Seungkwan retorted.

"Hey I –" 

"Oh my god." The report was more concerning than he thought the more information he uncovered.

"Seriously what?" Seungkwan was freaking out at Seokmin being distraught. Whatever it was his friend was researching it sounded horrible. 

The report of the crime scene stated an unknown substance was found in the system of the deceased, who was apparently the person who committed the bank robbery. The guy reportedly had calmly walked through the bank, asking the people inside to sit down and stay quiet as he took one of the workers and instructed them to 'take him to the money’. The hostages report the sensation of feeling out of body and delirious after listening to the bank robber's instruction, feeling unable to resist the temptation of following the instruction except for one hostage who was deaf. The deaf hostage managed to call authorities, reporting the bank robbery in progress whilst pretending as one of the hostage under the influence. The hostages also reported hearing an alarm like noise right before they were released from the delirious state they've been under. Before, authorities busted through the scene. Hostages and some authorities reported that right as the officers were raiding the bank; the bank robber fiddled with his watch and swallowed some sort of pill before combusting right in front of them. The only thing that remained of the guy was clothing articled, and a watch that was counting down from five minutes from what the authorities suspected. 

Seokmin relayed this information to his friends who had gone quiet. They both knew what the pill was that the guy consumed, but neither knew if that was the reason the guy combusted, but Seungkwan really didn't want to find out. 

"Seungkwan?" Mingyu looked around the room, he didn't hear his friend leaving the room but the friend in question wasn't there anymore. 

"I'm right here." Seokmin and Mingyu heard before a second later a trembling Seungkwan appeared as if from out of nowhere, crouching in the corner of the room. 

Seungkwan might not want to know more about the pill now, but he would have to if the concerned faces of his friend didn't tell him enough. 

"Shit." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments r always appreciated  
> .  
> Chapter title from Frank Iero - Blood Infections <3


	5. Every Word Gets You a Step Closer to Hell

Trask Industry stood proudly, towering in the middle of the city, with glass panels lining the whole of the building crystal-clear as the sky above it with speckling of viridescent reflected from the evergreens below. Everyone who goes inside and out through the automatic doors of the structure carried themselves as tall as the building they're frequenting on a daily bassist. There, everybody knew who they were and were extremely prideful of it. Being able to saunter confidently inside Trask was an invisible symbol of honor only visible during business parties and family gatherings, where people who wanted to know more about you would have no alternative then to asked the very controversial question of 'Where do you work?' 

Rest assured if you work at Trask, the answer would roll of your tongue effortlessly, haughtily. At ease with knowing that they belong.

Minghao was not one of these people, so when the security guard at the door questioned him pertaining his business here, he could barely choke out the answer of, "I got package for Jeon Wonwoo." 

Fighting men with guns and superpowers he could managed, but this – the stench of opulence and luxury was what made him choke.

"Really?" The security guard gave Minghao a once over, paying particular attention to the way the other dressed, specifically his favorite ratty red leather jacket. "You don't look like a delivery boy."

"W-well." The security shook his head before beginning to turn, walking away when Minghao grabbed the burly man's arm. "Wait! – wait, here," he pleaded, fishing out the small charcoal black card he was given alongside the instruction that said it'll help him in gaining access inside. Minghao was skeptical, the blank card didn't contain any information that he could see and so he pocketed it, but now he's hoping that it'll work.

The security guard rudely snatched the card out of his hand, inspecting it in equal measures fascination and disbelieve. Turning away from Minghao, he took out his cellphone doing something to the card that Minghao couldn't see. When the security guard turned around he squinted his eyes at Minghao. "What's your name kid?" He asked in an unreadable tone of voice.

"Uhm," for a second Minghao almost blurted his actual name before catching himself. The people he messed with were evil duplicitous men, concealing his true name were necessary. "The8." He decided to answer, hoping that's what the security guard wanted.

"You're the8?" The security guard’s eyes widen in disbelieve. He grabbed at Minghao sleeves, dragging him inside, the package almost falling from the abrupt motion. "You shoulda led with that." The guard scolded before sheep-herding him toward the elevator door at the end of the hall, pressing the specific floor for him.

Everything went by in a flash that Minghao was left dumbstruck just waiting there until the metal box opened revealed the floor it was designated too. The little _ding_ before the door open startled him enough that he almost dropped the package yet again.

"Hello," he announced to the seemingly empty room that the elevator dropped him off too. Minghao's never been in an elevator that opened up to a specific room before, just the one that get you to the floor that you needed to go, so whoever Jeon Wonwoo was he seemed pretty important.

The metal tables that were pushed onto the far side of the wall held wires and bolts, machineries that he couldn't even begin to comprehend the function of. There were test tubes and microscopes, electronic panels lining the wall, and there at the far side of the room, wedged between a computer and a large metal contraption was a lanky man in a lab coat, sitting hunched over seemingly engrossed with something.

Minghao approached him, making sure to be noticeable, clearing his throat for good measure.

Wonwoo startled himself away from whatever thing he was working on and stared at Minghao, seeing the package in his hand and standing up quickly to greet him. 

"Ah, hello, you must be delivering the parts that I requested."

"Yup," Minghao nodded, uninterested as he thrust the package quickly towards Wonwoo. From up close, the scientist look not that much older than he was, Minghao was a bit skeptical and impressed that such a young person could get a position in such a prestigious company.

The scientist took the packet gingerly like it's the most fragile thing in the world, carefully putting it on the metal table next to the contraption he was working on. There was a glint of excitement in his eyes that made Minghao wonder what the guy was working on.

"What is that thing?"

"It's a machine that could scan mutants and instantly decipher their abilities," he answer, excitement barely contained in his voice.

Minghao's eyes went wide. "It could do that."

Wonwoo shrugged. "Well hopefully, it's not done yet, but maybe that package you gave me might help."

Minghao hummed, the guy must be some sort of genius to be able to do that. He wasn't sure if the prospect of having someone decipher instantly what his abilities was, was something that he liked, but it sure could be useful for a number of reasons. A lot of people have attempted to unravel the science of mutants, so far there were a lot of aspects that have yet to be answered, let alone understood. How this person Wonwoo could invent such a contraption was beyond him.

"How does it work anyways?"

"Hmm...well, it's pretty difficult to explain. I use a combination of known technology and my mutation to be able to hopefully make it work," Wonwoo explained, already rummaging through drawers, setting up work for the machine.

"What's your ability?" asking someone of their mutated ability was considered discourteous, Minghao bit his tongue the second the question traveled pass his lips. The scientist didn't seem to mind though, already in a daze of happiness from getting his parts.

"I could tell what mutant abilities people have," he answered noncommittally, stopping his rummaging around to observed Minghao, seemingly examining him on something "Yours is pretty impressive if I may say," he complimented.

"Thanks." Minghao nodded, awkwardly smiling since the scientist hadn't looked away yet.

"Thanks for the package." Minghao nodded. "What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, well I was told you had something for m –"

"Oh right! The pills."

Minghao's heart stuttered a little at that, he didn't know the scientist was aware of the pills. The scientist had seemed so kindhearted, openly answering his question with a genuine tone that only people who truly cared about their work would have. It agitated Minghao a little just how jarring the information made the scientist seemed.

Wonwoo wandered into one of the glass paneled room located at the opposite corner of the lab, disappearing for a second before reappearing with a cardboard box at hand. He gave the box to Minghao unconcernedly, like the contents inside were unimportant. "Here," he said, noticing the surprised in Minghao's face.

"What?"

"What is it that you do here exactly?" Inquiring the answer in an interrogative manner. It disconcerted Wonwoo a great deal that he stepped back from the delivery boy before him.

"Uhm...I'm a scientist and I specialize in technology and mutation. I try to utilized mutagene to further the advances in technology. Why?"

That made sense, Minghao thought. "Did you make those pills?"

"No, I just mass produce it. _Why_?" Wonwoo pressed on, beginning to feel unsafe within his own laboratory.

"Do you know what those pills do?"

"I was told that the pills might help with healing mutants? I know it contains mutagene in it and that's why they needed my machine to produce it quickly. I-I don't know what this have anything to do with anything." Wonwoo babbled on, starting to feel defensive.

At the shift in tone and the genuine confusion in his answer, Minghao yielded. He didn't know why sometimes he'd have these small flashes of moments where all he wanted to do was help with the situation. He knew how dangerous the pills were and how many lives it had impacted thus far, but he needed to do it still, he had no choice in the matter because it was his responsibility. No questions asked. Besides, he was playing the long game; everything would come together at the end.

"Nothing, I'm sorry, I'll take my leave."

He didn't bother sticking around for Wonwoo to inquire any more questions pertaining his behavior, just riding the elevator down with the packet in hand and a last destination to go to. He felt sick to his stomach every time he got reminded of what it is his job entailed, but he really had to go through with it.

The elevator dinged open and he was off.

*

The first thing that Seungcheol noticed when he accompanied Chan home was how extremely dilapidated the surrounding area looked, he could even see rats the size of a cat crawling freely inside the putrid drainage system – in broad daylight no less. He's never seen a more unsuitable place for anybody to be living in. The apartment building (if you could call it that with how precariously it looked standing on its last leg) wasn't any better. The gigantic cracks that spider-webbed upwards side of the building made Seungcheol certain that the building didn't follow any safety regulation that might prevent the structure from collapsing in a disaster. There wasn't even a parking spot anywhere near the building so Seungcheol had to improvise by parking at the side of the narrow road, praying that nobody would do anything to Junhui's vehicle.

The area was seemingly uninhabited but those prying eyes didn't go unnoticed to Seungcheol, it was correct to assume people in the slums would probably cause a scene if they noticed the license plate of a detective car. He hoped it was the correct decision to make since Junhui's risking the one and only personal car he had that he actually was really quite fond off since he bought it with his own money after a while working at the agency. Junhui didn't think he could afford another one anytime soon if this got stolen and Minghao needed his.

Stepping out of the car felt daunting; Seungcheol didn't know what monstrous entity laid waiting beyond the frightening looking metal door of the deteriorating building. He didn't want to – couldn't even imagine how anybody could possibly live inside. This was Chan's home. He couldn't begin to imagine how many laws are being broken by the people inside, and how many times he would have to pretend not to notice.

"Come on." Chan beckoned, leading them inside, unfreezing the two detectives from their positions. He saw the disgust plastering their faces when they examined the building he practically grew up in, really they shouldn't judge. If the detectives could afford the sort of apartment Chan's been exposed to previously, then they shouldn't complain.

Navigating through the building, up the several flights of stairs was familiar to Chan, it's like he just return home from a visit to the store and not like he's been missing for probably quite some time. He didn't pay any attention to the two detectives who were lagging behind him, just excited to witness the look on Jeonghan hyung's face when he realized he'd return home. He wondered if he had been missed, wondered how many nights Jeonghan had stayed out looking for him and he briefly thought about the lengthy conversation that they would have just cuddling together, Jeonghan playing with his hair. Maybe Soonyoung would be there or Joshua and they'd get to eat dinner together.

He was too excited to wait, knocking at the door and waiting for anybody to answer.

"Chan, wait." Seungcheol pleaded, panting from having to chase after the boy, Junhui a little further behind. Something told Seungcheol that things were about to go awry. He didn't want Chan to be overly excited for something uncertain. And Seungcheol was also hesitant on meeting Chan's family.

The door clicked open and beyond it was everything Chan could possibly hope for.

Soonyoung had opened the door, his face contorting in complete surprise, letting the door hang open as wide as his mouth. There on the mattress sat Joshua, already settling in, looking like he was about to recline but just barely because he's observing Jeonghan now. _His_ Jeonghan hyung was sitting cross legged on the floor, a lid of a large food container in his hand. Chan watch as that very lid clattered onto the floor and came stuttering out of his Hyung voice was his name, broken and brimming with emotion.

"Channie?"

"Hyung!" He breathed, running happily inside, tackling Jeonghan onto the floor.

He hugged the older as tightly as he could, feeling the flesh and bone underneath his fingers as he squeeze tightly, smelling the familiar scent of home as he buried his face in his hyung's neck. "I really miss you." Even if he didn't remember much of anything, or even how long he's been kidnapped, he remembered missing Jeonghan, that feeling stayed with him throughout everything.

It took quite a while for Jeonghan to collect himself, his arms splayed wide at his side, rigid and unmoving. He didn't know how to response, what to think; it all felt like a hallucination, a vicios dream that he thought he had move passed ages ago.

"Am I dreaming?" he heard himself mumbled disbelievingly, his own voice sounding so distant from him. It _must_ be a dream.

"No," he then heard Soonyoung state, his voice full of coldness and alarm, a hint of terror underneath, revealing the detectives coming through the door, flashing their hologram badges and entering the premises without permission.

"You can't be here," he heard Soonyoung said voice as cutting as before. 

Joshua came to stand beside Soonyoung, as if he was a legal representative. Fixing his clothes and putting on a professional expression.

"May I help you gentleman?" Joshua asked in a politely fabricated tone Jeonghan only ever heard whenever his best friend was talking with some particularly irritating business men on his phone.

"They came with me," Chan defended, surprising the detectives quite a bit releasing his hold on Jeonghan, standing. He was about to walk away when Jeonghan mind finally processed the situation, quickly grabbing the younger's wrist, shaking his head. 

Chan looked at his hyung below him understandingly. "It's okay; they're the ones who helped found me. They just have a couple of questions."

"Okay." Jeonghan curtly replied. "But you stay next to me."

"It's okay, we just wanna talk." Seungcheol placated.

"I'll decide what's okay."

Seungcheol halted in his spot where he attempted to walk forward. He heard the door closing behind him and for somebody armed with a weapon and a partner, he was the one who felt afraid in this situation. But then he remembered who this was coming from. Jeonghan was a slumrat and a protective figure, Seungcheol understood that the defensiveness was a mechanism derived from fears, his fears towards _him._

"You're not in trouble, nobody is," Junhui quickly started. That at least disarmed Jeonghan enough, the shapeshifter losing the tension in his back. "We just wanna ask a few questions that might help us out with our case. We need to know when the last time Lee Chan was in your care," he explained, watching Jeonghan nodding in understanding.

"Okay."

This wasn't what Seungcheol expected to encounter when he first heard the name Jeonghan being echoed loudly from inside the mind of the boy holding his big brother in his arm. The face and the feeling that accompanied the name emanated the impression of tranquility; the beautiful long-haired boy seemed extremely soft in Chan's mind, and at the same time sophisticated and elegant. The standoffish defensive person in front of him was almost a complete opposite of how Chan had depicted him.

Jeonghan inspected him then, his eyes judging and unsympathetic contrasting a burning passion and protective tenderness hidden behind it.

Seungcheol didn't know why his heart stuttered in his chest.

Everyone shifted from their places, some occupying the bed and others sitting down on the floor as he herded the two detectives onto the floor as well until they form a little circle. It was the most unprofessional scene Seungcheol had ever been presented and his slight unease must've shown on his face because seconds later he heard Jeonghan chuckled dryly.

"Sorry detectives, we weren't expecting guests. If we did we would've stolen a couple of chairs for you before you arrive."

Seungcheol winced, he wasn't judging. He was aware of his inexperience living like Jeonghan and he was fortunate not to.

"We're very sorry if we had inconvenience you," Junhui covered sounding far more professional than he usually was; Seungcheol was surprised to see this side of his friend.

"Whatever, what do you wanna know?"

Seungcheol started off with the standardize inquiries of when was the last time any of them seen Chan, and if they knew what had happened that had led him to getting kidnapped. He didn't expect the dry humorless chuckle as the start of his answer.

"Wow, if you people had bothered to take me seriously months ago then you would know the answer to every single question."

Seungcheol was about to ask Jeonghan to elaborate before getting cut of by Chan's hollow voice. "Months?"

Jeonghan looked at the younger one in confusion. "You didn't remember?"

"No, I just figured that I was taken for a couple of weeks – but _months_?"

"Eleven," Soonyoung supplied, his voice emotionless. "You were missing for almost a year." Contrary to Jeonghan's believe, Soonyoung too also kept track, he missed Chan as much as Jeonghan did, but the older seemed to disintegrate at the slightest mention of their youngest companion. Someone needed to be strong for the both of them, and Joshua was that for a while but it wasn't enough since he had another life awaiting him that didn't involve them, so Soonyoung stepped up.

"Oh my god," Chan's despondent surfaced as only breath of a whisper. He deliriously stood on his feet, hands already coming to his hair, tugging frustratingly on it. Jeonghan didn't stop him. 

_A year,_ he'd been gone for almost _a year._

Deliriously, he ambled towards the window, needing something cool tor rest his forehead upon. He needed some space. a year.

"I'm really sorry, c-can you please tell me what happened?"

Jeonghan sighed, squirming uncomfortably in his spot, he didn't want to relive the very day he had lost somebody exceptionally important, someone he actually kept near his heart. It was a careless mistake, he invested his trust on the very people who lived to destroy it, and he suffered the consequences. And although now he knew Chan was alive and well, there was still an ache within his ribcage that served to demolish him every time he recounted that specific day.

"It happened back in April." A couple of white vans had pulled up just at the outskirts of the slums. The red banner that stated 'Red Hill Medical Facility' were clearly written on it. He thought he knew what they're intentions were, it wasn't the first time the government had decided to give charity to the poorest, grimiest, people that haunted the shadows of the city. It was probably some sort of political ploy to gain sympathy from the public. Free healthcare that was what they all needed.

Jeonghan had been dubious, rightfully so, pulling his two idiots back from the single file lines that had formed in front of the vans.

"Don't, we don't know what they want yet." He had whispered, eyeing warily some of the authorities that had come to maintain order for the occasion. He knew the van was gathering information, drawing blood, reading heartbeats and blood pressures. Some people who were done were even allowed to leave freely with a bag of basic medicines in hand, which were things that the three of them desperately needed.

"But, Channie…" Soonyoung pouted just as Chan sneezed particularly loud.

Chan had been frequently coming down with something lately. The spring season often proved to be an aggravating inconvenience when it came to triggering Chan's allergy, and thus leading to lowering his immune system. They've been holding off on medicine, unable to afford any since they've been low on targets lately. This was the perfect opportunity for them to receive some medicine.

Their eyes were huge, staring imploringly towards him. They really did need some medicine. "Alright, you go on that line, me and Soonyoung will go to the other two."

They split up waiting in line, Jeonghan already thinking of plans to deceive the medic into dispensing as much medicine as possible. Maybe he should shift himself into having a physical deformity. He was so engrossed in stepping every time the line shorten, and thinking of outlandish plans that he completely didn't notice when one of the vans had pulled out of its previous spot, leaving the slums entirely.

The crowd was even growing, making it harder for him to notice anything was amiss. It wasn't until he decided to ask Chan what medicine did the younger specifically needed, only to look up to see the van that his younger had been queuing for had disappeared and he started panicking, breaking away from the line to find him.

In the middle of his frantic searching he bumped into Soonyoung, who asked what was happening. Another van had driven out of the slums. Jeonghan, agitated, had gripped Soonyoung wrist so tightly that it bruised later on that day. The two of them immediately cut through the sea of people attempting obtain information from somebody in charge.

Jeonghan had a horribly sinking feeling about this.

They struggled making their way up front; one persistent bodyguard kept blocking them off. The bodyguard looked young and inexperienced, but there was a glint in his eyes that made it clear that he wasn't quite a novice. The bodyguard eventually relented; there was a hint of sympathy in his eyes at seeing Jeonghan's panicked face that served to agitate Jeonghan even more. Jeonghan and Soonyoung finally managed to arrive at the front of the incoherent queue, and was face with a nurse in a mask. 

"May I help you gentlemen?"

"Yes, where the _fuck_ is my brother?" He had shouted, only to be given a robotically rehearsed answer.

"We're sorry, we don't know who that is, but we did have some people shipped to one of our many hospitals for further treatment."

"He doesn't need further treatment; he only had a fucking cold! _Where is he._ You can't take him away from me, he's under age," Jeonghan began screaming, voice cracking, eyes reddening, already brimming with tears.

"I apologize, but we don't know where your brother is."

Jeonghan ended up being forcibly escorted away, shouting and crying. Eventually, they decided to search for Chan everywhere within the city. They even asked for Joshua's assistance, which Jeonghan was already reluctant ask, not wanting to be a charity case if they're utilizing his resources.

Unfortunately nothing he did amounted to anything.

Days turned into weeks and weeks eventually turned into months without any sighting of Lee Chan anywhere. His baby brother had disappeared.

"I tried reporting to the police twice, and all that they did was arrest me for threatening authority." Jeonghan rolled his eyes, all that scamming and the one thing that gotten him arrested was the complete incompetency and animosity the city justice department had for people like him. How fitting.

"I deeply apologize" Seungcheol said. "Did you see anything weird since then? Did the vans come back? – a-and whilst we're here do you have anything to report?"

At the mention of a chance to report Seungcheol was hit with a vision of something brightly lit, inflamed and it solicited a gasp out of him. He tried to play it off when everyone stared. It took him a second to find who the memory belonged to.

 _"Anything._ " Seungcheol implored the boy cowering near the door.

"Uhm – "

" _Soonyoung_." Jeonghan suddenly reprimanded. 

Seungcheol watched Soonyoung straighten back up, already beginning to shake his head before reiterating, "No." unconvincingly.

Truthfully, it did disquiet Soonyoung. Sometimes around dawn, when his mind just wouldn't allot him unconsciousness, the flashing images of burning bodies invaded his mind. He knew that technically the deaths of those men weren't their fault. The bodyguard choosing to consume that pill and it resulted in their deaths. Even so, guilt still grew larger within his chest, even when the first few hours after the incident he felt practically okay, the more that he thought about what happened the more disgusted he felt. He saw two people died right in front of him, and even though it was indirectly, the bodyguards wouldn't have died if they hadn't messed with the business men, and that meant they were responsible for their deaths to some extent.

This was eating him alive whilst Jeonghan seemed callous enough to not mention it anymore, keeping up his usual demeanor. Soonyoung knew it was a defensive front, but he didn't think he could hold his own tongue anymore.

"Are you sure?"

But he'll do it for Jeonghan; he always had their best interest at heart so he trusted him.

"Positive."

They became overly silent, but that just made Seungcheol more determined on finding out what Soonyoung was hiding, even if it had nothing to do with his current case he still wanted to help. That was after all, his natural response.

"Okay, but I'm gonna need a clearer picture on that day you say Chan was kidnapped. Can you, maybe, show me?" He addressed Jeonghan.

"Show you what?"

"What happened, I might be able to see something that you couldn't."

Jeonghan looked at the detective like he was insane. "And how exactly am I supposed to show you?"

 _Right_ , Seungcheol could be unbelievably airheaded sometimes. There was a protocol that he had to follow, on his cases he needed to have full disclosure on his telepathic abilities, but since he rarely ever designated a case he rarely ever had to do it.

"I'm a telepath." He expected the way some of them guarded themselves instinctively, safe for one person who kept his composure and had been keeping his composure throughout everything. He appeared different than the rest of them, and seeing the brands on some of the seemingly mundane articles of clothing he was wearing it was clear to Seungcheol that /that one was rich and thus had no fear over authorities.

"I'm sorry I didn't disclose this sooner, I should've, but don't worry I'm not allowed to read someone without their expressed permission," Seungcheol explained.

"Oh, of course, like I'm supposed to trust you." Jeonghan rolled his eyes.

"No really I –"

"Do you wanna read or not?" Jeonghan cut in, halting Seungcheol in his speech, whatever that's going to get the two detectives out of there faster without causing them much trouble was preferable.

"Ah yes, of course."

Seungcheol scooted over closer to Jeonghan who was slightly elevated, sitting on the mattress. He put his hands around Jeonghan's head, cupping, not yet touching. The moment seemed oddly intimate the way Jeonghan leaned forward a little. And from where he was up-close, Seungcheol could see the little details on Jeonghan's face, like the tiny beauty mark he had under one of his eyes.

Jeonghan was really beautiful, the kind that takes your breath away. He'd been able to keep his composure thus far, but something about the lack of distance obliterated that factor.

He feels a sudden rush of foreign emotions overwhelmed him, he look back at Junhui who raised a brow at him as if to say 'hey, we're on the job.'

Which was correct. Now was not the time.

"May I?" He asked again, making sure to have Jeonghan's fully expressed permission like he promised he was supposed to.

Junhui seemed to sense the odd tension surrounding his partner, but as long as Seungcheol did his job then he'd give him privacy. He just couldn't help at getting glances of Seungcheol’s emotion's sometimes, the man was _extremely_ expressive. Not wanting to waste time himself he chose to ask the other two occupants more information, beckoning them over to a corner, whilst Chan was quietly observant throughout the whole ordeal.

From where he was just inches apart from Jeonghan, Seungcheol could see the tiny specks of golden inside the other's iridescent iris. Seungcheol throat went absolutely dry when he realized just how attractive the boy before him actual was. The protective attitude that Jeonghan possessed was one of the things he was particularly intrigued with, finding similarities to himself. Also the fact that Jeonghan had a softer side to him from the glimpses he saw inside Chan's mind solidified his completely inappropriate attraction. He shouldn't be thinking like this on the job, this wasn't some guy he glanced at in passing and had somehow found him attractive. This was somebody close to his victim.

The glitter in his eyes though, it was – 

_pretty._ He heard, alongside a glimpse of large brown eyes. It took him a second to realize that those weren't his thoughts, and the image of the familiar eyes he saw belonged to himself.

He couldn't stop himself from choking on air, falling into a coughing fit to cover it up.

"Shit," Jeonghan whispered, groaning as he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment, shaking his head frantically. _telepath,_ he reminded himself. "Fuck, never mind."

"I didn't hear anything," Seungcheol managed to choke out.

"Just – fuck, okay, continue."

From across the room Soonyoung, Joshua, and Junhui diverted their attention towards the pair, taking a break from their idle interrogation.

"What was that about?" Soonyoung asked.

"I think they're flirting," Joshua supplied, seeing Jeonghan's demeanor shifted the way it did when he found somebody attractive.

Junhui looked at his partner, noticing the bright red tint to his friend's ear. "Definitely flirting."

"That's one hell of a way to flirt," Soonyoung commented.

After the brief distraction, Seungcheol rested his hands back around Jeonghan's head, brushing a couple strands of hair behind and biting his tongue to keep from doing anything _more_ absurd.

"Okay," he said again before regaining his composure, then falling into Jeonghan's memory, letting it unfold

He deconstructed the defenses Jeonghan had built surrounding his hidden memories. It was a kind of trick that Seungcheol rarely utilized since nobody really desired their inner most thoughts to be invaded. He wasn't particularly amazing at it either, so really it wasn't particularly useful. But sometimes the people he practiced on (mainly Junhui and Jihoon occasionally once he's pleaded enough times) were oddly loopy and for a brief moment a lot of their thoughts were unguarded. It was an accidental side effect that he never really explored but now he might think there could be usage for it.

Once he felt Jeonghan's mind melting a little, he asked the very question he asked Soonyoung.

"Are you sure there isn’t anything else."

And that was it; the question made Jeonghan's recounted everything valuable. Because at that precious moment Seungcheol saw what he needed. Some guy taking a pill, exploding seconds later, killing one other. Seungcheol kept extracting as many memories as possible.

Seungcheol could see the beginning of where it all went wrong. Jeonghan was in a dress. Soonyoung was on his laptop. There were intentions of stealing and then there were a guy being choked off. Everything led him to the bodyguards’ death.

He didn't know that Jeonghan had to resort to so many troubles just to survive. The fact that most people with money had half a mind to have several bank accounts, and the ones that were usually wired to the phone were a smaller one, utilized momentarily only for instant monetary transactions meant that even through all that effort, the money that they stole never amounted to much. He didn't realize how extraordinarily high the pay for rent this dilapidated building seemed to Jeonghan. The fact that he also spent the money on the children, orphans, living around the slums broke and warmed Seungcheol's heart at the same time. It was beginning to get increasingly difficult for Seungcheol to not take things personally, not when his saviour complex is being coaxed out of him the more he reads.

Chan vaguely was discerning everything happening behind him, but he couldn't be bothered to look back, his head was filled with thoughts on his lost memory. Before this he had no intention of pursuing his own case further, not really caring about whoever had kidnapped him and just desiring to return home to his family. And now that he's back and was informed of the duration he was missing - how long Jeonghan had to suffer because of his absence, Chan wanted nothing more than to seek revenge on the people who have hurt him. He needed to know what had happened, why it happened.

Chan stared blankly at a car pulling up below.

Maybe he should start by remembering the months when he was kidnapped.

– The person on the alleyway below him, the one in the red jacket, opened up his trunk to reveal a box that the person picked up – 

Or maybe he should retrace his steps, what had happened right before he was kidnapped. He couldn't remember it either.

– The thunder reverberated loudly outside, startling the person below, compelling them to look upwards and that's when Chan saw the face of the man clearly. That was – 

"Shit." He whispered in disbelieve, before seconds later booking it out the door, startling everybody who he didn't bother acknowledging their screams of.

Seungcheol was startled away from his reading, seeing the commotion Chan had left as the boy ran away outside.

"What was that all about?" Soonyoung asked.

Jeonghan was already on his way blindly following Chan behind him, he didn't want to lose him again.

Junhui went over towards the window to examine what the boy had seen, his eyes taking a second to adjust before gasping himself when he was faced with the familiar view. He too followed in running downstairs.

Seungcheol was left in a daze as everybody left the building, but then he caught a thought from Chan who was down the hall by now and all that he needed to hear was the words, _He was there, he was there when they kidnapped me,_ before also booking it out the door.

*

Dropping off the pills to the person who ominously observed through his doors was an experience Minghao didn't think he would desired encountering again. 

Going all the way to the slums, listening to the radio station against his better judgment, had reminded once more of the effects of his actions towards the city. It made his guilt fester the entire journey towards the slums.

He detested what he had to do sometimes, but before clearer instruction told him to stop, he _really_ couldn't. He couldn't uncover his position since it served a greater purpose. He had to keep reminding himself that even if the assignment he physically had to do remained the same, he was not the same person he was when he first got started everything.

He wasn't selfishly doing it for himself anymore; he was defending the people who had entrusted him the position as well. The ones who saw potential and gave him a chance at redemption

He needed to do this. He would divulge all the information he had required on his regular half-yearly schedule by the end of the week.

Minghao was beginning his return to his vehicle, imagining going home and sleeping off the exhausting day when he heard a shout coming from behind him before a fireball barreled straight onto his face. He was catapulted backwards, face stinging, but before he could register anything, his flight or fight reflexes jump started, compelling him to run.

His feet were moving as rapidly as physically possible. His body recognizing danger motivated his legs to carry him even faster.

Minghao ran blindingly fast, passing alleyways as he took sharp turns, running further inwards towards the slums where he could hopefully escape. There was somebody shouting his name behind him that he didn't quite focus on, to busy escaping the situation. He didn't know who or why the person behind him was pursuing him, but with the numerous fireballs flying towards him, he didn't really have the luxury to care.

Turning left, he unexpectedly stumbled into a couple of slumrats selling things on the dirty concrete, hearing a couple complaints coming way, but he didn't focus on it, barely muttering a, "Sorry." Behind him.

The next fireball to fly towards him almost grazed his ears. If it weren't for his feet sliding him quickly aside, he'd probably been hit. The distraction finally gave his body time building up an unbreakable shell surrounding himself so he could resist the oncoming fire.

Turning right, this time he saw a bridge ahead of him, a flowing river running exactly underneath it. _This could be perfect_.

"Chan, wait!" Minghao overheard, the name being shouted unfamiliar but the person shouting it was. 

_It couldn't be._

"Please!" He heard another person shout, this time the voice was definitely familiar. _What is going on?_

Glancing behind him, he saw that none of his pursuers have made the last turn yet, so he utilized the time by speeding up his running, eventually hiding underneath the bridge.

He heard oncoming footsteps only moments later and saw his burning pursuer stepping into his line of vision. Minghao, wasn't really thinking, didn't even register the fact that the other pursuers might also be mutants, equally as dangerous as the one leading the chase. But he let his initial reflexes took over as he manhandled the boy right beneath the shallow and murky river water underneath him, catching him off guard.

Together they tumbled into the river, and the first thing that his pursuer did was shoot a wall of inferno from his open palms, attempting to burn Minghao alive, and it would've worked if it weren't for the fact that Minghao's body was ready. 

Just before the flame hit him, the skin on his body harden, growing thick, darkening, turning scale-like. He anticipated as the flames reflected against his skin to no effect, observing as the organic shielding he had constructed began glowing from the extreme heat.

Minghao tried his greatest to manhandle the pursuer’s hand underwater as well, observing as the flame slowly extinguished with every inch of the hand drowning underneath the water.

Steam was everywhere and Minghao couldn't discern what was happening below him, he just kept pushing like his life depended on him before –

His mind went completely blank, he freeze in his spot entirely immobilized. He felt the boy beneath him crawling right out of his grip, standing up, soaking wet entirely, red-faced and furious. And before Minghao could register anything, a wall of flame shot relentlessly right towards him.

"Chan!" He heard, followed by. "Seungcheol no, wait – Minghao!"

And then the flames engulfed him at the same time his mind was released from its immobility.

He was repelled backwards, his hand relentlessly coming up protecting everything, blocking the flames. His body might be able to survive the onslaught of inferno but his clothes sure as hell couldn't.

"Chan?! – _Chan!_ " He heard again repeated, more frantically, before the hellfire that was released upon him dissipated entirely and he could breathe again, his skin returning to its original state, stamina depleted.

Somebody was holding his pursuer’s hand, keeping their body close to them and away from Minghao so he couldn't attack again. "Chan, channie please, talk to me." the long-haired person pleaded.

"He was there hyung! He was there at the place where I was kidnapped!"

The two people turned around to observe him, and four others that just ran around the corner also set their eyes onto him. One pair of them was burning more passionately than the others and it wasn't the fiery boy in front of him.

" _Hey_...you were the bodyguard that I saw during that free medical care thing!" the long-haired person accusatorily shouted.

"He was also there at the place where I was kidnapped," the boy added, addressing the newcomers now.

Chaos instantly erupted, but all that Minghao could focus on was the one detective who was approaching him gradually, tentatively.

"Minghao," he whispered and Minghao quickly covered Junhui's mouth, pushing the detective up against a wall.

"It's The8," he hissed, watching as the detective's eyes widen. "I'm on the job," he muttered, more quietly this time.

Someone overheard him though and it was the other detective who also stepped forward.

"Minghao?" He asked, before recognition dawned on his face. "Junhui, this is _your_ Minghao?"

Minghao was totally screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Merry Christmas everyone! Idk if anybody's reading but cus it's the holidays i've decided to post around every 2 weeks, but i will still post regularly. Hopefully. Thx to anyone reading and have a good holiday <3  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Comments r always appreciated  
> Chapter title from Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks by  
> Panic! At The Disco <3


	6. Ribs Are a Cage of a Wild Heart

Seungkwan didn't know how to navigate his own life anymore. He tiptoed around his parents, not wanting them to worry or even worse – praise him for discovering his mutation's permanence. The thought of discovering your mutation after adolescence was practically impossible. Furthermore, the millions of dollars’ worth of screening equipment they'd tested on him certified the absence of mutagene inside him.

Now he was walking around his own goddamn mansion, invisible, hidden, and afraid.

Unfortunately, Seungkwan didn't trust his parents when they said they didn't know much about the origins of the pill, and because of the bank robbery case Seokmin had unearthed, he figured he owed it to himself to discover his parents secret. He didn't want to just wake up one day, suddenly imploding into a million pieces of flesh and bones. He didn't want to die just yet, _thank you._

So now he was here at Vernon's, returning again to the boy currently unmoving staring at him.

"Uhm..."

 _I missed you_ , was what Vernon wanted to say, instead, clearing his throat, he said, "Sorry."

"No! – I-I mean I missed you." Seungkwan quickly covered, realizing how rude he'd been; here his friend was, barely returned from a lengthy stay outside of the country, was called suddenly so Seungkwan could visit. Vernon probably thought this was a casual visit between to friends who'd been separated for a considerable amount of time, but then Seungkwan completely obliterated that notion. He wasn't here for a greeting, he needed Vernon, he needed his friend's expertise on DNA. 

"Oh God," Seungkwan whined, finally registering how selfish he'd sounded, "I'm such an idiot."

Vernon chuckled, shaking his head before encircling Seungkwan in a hug who melted instantly.

"It's fine."

Seungkwan shook his head, "No," he said, managing the most sincere apologetic face he could muster. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you properly on the phone, but I really need you."

"Of course."

The two of them made their way inside, Vernon unconsciously intertwining their fingers; fulfilling his body desire of being attached to the person he'd so dearly missed. It was peculiar how easily Vernon physically conveyed his feelings when it came to Seungkwan sometimes. It's like for a brief moment he forgot that he wasn't supposed to show any emotions. Everything else around him didn't matter except Seungkwan, touching Seungkwan, being near Seungkwan, and-

He lets go.

"I'm sorry," there were no stutter to his voice, but there wasn't any clear intention behind the apology either. He really was clueless on how to interact with Seungkwan. It was easier to be reserved with everyone else _except_ him.

Seungkwan didn't seem to have those hesitations, easily reinter twining their hands before continuing their ascend contradicting his confidence by blushing maddeningly.

And that's one thing that Vernon could never get over, how brave Seungkwan was, effortlessly overcoming his own fears regardless of his hesitation. Maybe Vernon could learn a thing or two from him.

"I'm sorry, I missed your showcase by the way, I really wanted to attend."

Arriving in Vernon's room, they quickly arranged themselves on the bed, tugging and pulling in a familiar motion. This was something the pair was accustomed too, so it didn't feel difficult despite the tension that always amalgamates between them whenever they're near.

"Its fine, It’s just –" Seungkwan crawled himself onto the space Vernon reserved next to him, body slotting automatically onto his friend's side. It reminded Seungkwan of the movie nights they used to organized, just the two of them in Vernon's room. He thought maybe they could conduct another movie night once this little problem is solved –"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Vernon turned towards Seungkwan, gazing earnestly towards the anxious boy. "I'm listening."

"Uhm, well, where do I start?"

It was difficult to concentrate on his difficulties when Vernon was _so_ close. He attempted to anyways, starting from the showcase, how terribly anxious he had felt, the way his body froze in front of so many people, the way his heart almost beat out of his ribcage and the suffocation that he felt throughout the whole night.

Seungkwan squeezed the fabric of Vernon's shirt whilst reliving the nerve-wracking moment. 

Vernon was also finding it difficult to focus on Seungkwan's story when the little squeeze that he gave was just absolutely adorable. He was more focus on the way Seungkwan was absentmindedly worrying the hem of his shirt, moving up to the collar, mumbling on some parts of his statements and pouting on some section, with his bottom lip slightly jutting out, and then –

"Woah...that's really cool." 

Seungkwan halted his storytelling, instinctively looking down at himself – his _invisible_ self "Oh," he mumbled, before returning to visibility. Almost instantly he felt light-headed, he wasn't accustomed to what he could do yet. "Sorry."

Vernon shook his head. "No, you're really fascinating," he blurted. He didn't blush, but his heartbeat stuttered, he shouldn't have been so upfront, but the way Seungkwan's ears burned read sort of made it worth it. Maybe he could manage being this forth coming if this was the result, but then again people are unreliable.

Shaking himself from any thought, he nodded, "Please continue."

Seungkwan fell back into the story, simultaneously returning towards Vernon's embrace. He told his friend about the police reports and the other people who took the pill.

"And I was scared you know?" Seungkwan mumbled, cutting his gaze towards his friend’s eyes, suddenly realizing they were inches apart. During his rant, he'd probably moved closer, or maybe it was Vernon who'd, he didn't know, but breathlessly he continued, "And uhm...I'm scared now."

"I'll help." 

"Okay."

Vernon's breath fanned across Seungkwan's making the other blushed horribly. The tension was building so heavily before Vernon finally snapped himself awake, before leaning back and clearing his throat 

They stayed in their position just breathing together, registering the awkwardness that had suddenly appeared from their unexpected actions. Seungkwan missed Vernon so much, all he really wanted then was to fall asleep right there, but –

"Alright, let's see that mutagene of yours."

It was difficult for Vernon to concentrate, but he did catch everything that his friend explained. He was wary of the overdrive pill Seungkwan had taken. If it had blown someone up then whatever was contained inside the pill, it was obviously unstable. He didn't think that Seungkwan was in trouble though, it's been several days since the pill was taken, it probably passed through Seungkwan's system already. It was the sudden appearance of mutagene he was worried about; he didn't know how that could be possible and what the repercussion of that would be.

Fortunately, he owned some equipment in his lab that might help.

It's been a while since Seungkwan saw Vernon inside his lab again, his natural habitat in his opinion. He remembered the times he's spent in silence with his friend, hanging upside down on an office chair, scrolling through his social media and just waiting for Vernon to be finished with whatever it was he was doing. It was cute, Seungkwan thought, the way Vernon got so enraptured in the work he was doing, hunching over some lab samples, his eyes switching colors with all the different visions he saw, jotting whatever it was that he found on a note.

Occasionally, he would look up and give Seungkwan the most blinding smile in the world, and Seungkwan would whine, asking how much longer would it take and that would make the smile on Vernon's face impossibly brighter as he chuckle at him. Seungkwan really took that time for granted.

He remembered that there were a million and one thing stuck within his throat when he was accompanying Vernon to the airport. It was just a few months, but they acted like it was forever, and still nothing substantial was cemented between them. 

He did say it, the three letter words. Unfortunately, he didn't think Vernon had taken it the way he meant it and he felt fortunate that those words weren't brought up again.

Seungkwan really did missed Vernon though.

"Come here." Vernon guided Seungkwan to sit on one of the chairs in the lab. The place was kept clean during his leave, although most of the stuff inside still managed to collect dust from disuse. Still, it wasn't difficult, maneuvering in such a familiar environment. He fell back into everything with ease as he put on every necessary thing and disinfected everything that needed it.

Finally, putting the needle up to the light, Seungkwan gulped, he hated needles, it was scary. 

Seungkwan trembled in his seat whilst his upper arm was being tied. He hated sharp objects.

"Don't worry, it's just a pinch." Vernon took Seungkwan's hand, caressing the skin there and letting Seungkwan relax from his light touches. Leaning down he looked straight at the other boy's eyes, at that moment they felt their heartbeat syncing.

Vernon took distraction, sticking the needle in, drawing blood quickly and pulling out. Seungkwan flinched but otherwise made no fuss; the other was incredibly good at unknowingly distracting the invisible boy.

"Wait here." 

Seungkwan watched as Vernon bustle over everything that needed to be done; moving microscope slides and test tubes everywhere. It was amazing being able to witness Vernon work.

Vernon finally settled down behind a microscope and begins his observation, pushing the limit of the microscope and when that couldn't go anymore he used his ability – his microscopic vision – to go further. He was lucky to be born with an ability that aligns so greatly with what he wanted to do. He's used to just utilizing his vision rather than a microscope that he sometimes forgot how to use the machine. He needed microscopes sometimes, for things like these that required better equipment than what his home laboratory had.

Seungkwan squirmed in his seat, afraid that Vernon might see something. The minutes ticked by like centuries, Vernon humming and nodding to himself every couple minutes. Seungkwan had to bite his tongue from asking what Vernon was seeing every time.

"Hmm, you look..."

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, there's no way the other wasn't doing this on purpose now. "Spit it out."

Vernon chuckled, "Normal – you absolutely look normal, just like any other _mutant_."

_Mutant, he was officially a mutant now._

"But how, I had no mutagene inside me before, I mean I understand dormant genes but there was nothing to activate, right?" Seungkwan vaguely remembers his middle school classes regarding it, but this was different.

Vernon was stumped there, he really couldn't tell anything more except that according to what he saw, there was nothing wrong with Seungkwan's DNA safe for the new addition of mutagene.

"I really don't know, unless you have that overdrive you took on hand then there's really nothing else we could examine – I-I wouldn't know where to begin. I'll try whatever I can but in the meantime..."

Seungkwan hummed, he figured that they were going to need the pill, and he might know just where he could get it.

"Okay, I'll get that pill."

*

Seungcheol was flabbergasted, how Junhui succeeded in concealing a completely separate faction of his life from his partner was beyond him.

They'd returned to the agency a day after the incident, shamefully bowing their heads when the Captain reprimanded them for still pursuing the case even when he instructed them no to. In their defense, they accidentally stumbled into the potential lead – well, technically, the potential lead stumbled upon the victim.

Minghao hadn't said anything to anyone when he got captured, no matter how much Junhui pleaded for him to tell him what's going on. And in the next turn of bewildering events, Minghao was the one who decided to go to the agency.

"So," the Captain started, eyes narrowing at the two detectives. "You've discovered one of our informants."

_Their what?_

"I apologize; I didn't know that he was involved with our case."

 _Junhui knew?_ His eyes widen disbelievingly at his partner who looked remorseful, and was clearly averting his gaze from Seungcheol.

"Well, we didn't know either" the captain answered admittedly, leaning backwards in his chair and squeezing his eyes shut. There were so many things the agency was lagging behind. Something sinister was developing, but they'd yet received any information to complete the final picture. And here they were, rookies, stumbling into something exceptionally big.

"Minghao – or, the8, was set to return to the agency several weeks from now. We don't make it a habit to extract our informants from the field prematurely, unless we wanna compromise their position. It was already difficult for me to accept that one of our informants and one of my detectives are _dating_."

Junhui winced; he didn't realize that the captain was aware of their relationship. Junhui knew Minghao for a long time and became the one who inevitably helped to bust the whole organization Minghao was involved in. After that, Junhui had convinced the captain to make Minghao an informant for their agency. As far as Junhui's aware, he though the captain thought they were acquaintances.

"But, your personal life has nothing to do with the case, and since there's no rule regarding interpersonal relationship within the agency, I can't reprimand you for that," the captain continued.

"Yes, thank yo –"

"However, I think because of that, you boys are too close to the investigation." Before this the captain had been considering letting the rookies continue their investigation since they were already overwhelmed, but with this newer development –

"Wait!" Seungcheol panicky obstructed, he might not know exactly what was happening, but he knew one thing. He needed this. "Please, I think we might have something here. I think we could solve whatever this is," Seungcheol argued. There was something exceptionally important buried within the case that he desired to investigate, and from what he'd witnessed at Chan's apartment yesterday, it's necessary to give him closure.

The Captain looked hesitantly at the rookies. At that moment, he was at a lost on what to decide. His instincts however, told him that these boys might be capable of helping.

"Have you boys heard of overdrive?" As expected, there was recognition written in their expression, probably from yesterday. He explained what he knew anyways, "It's this pill that's been reportedly circulating throughout the city. It apparently turns humans into mutants, but only for five minutes."

Seungcheol's eyebrow crawl up his forehead, it actually aligned with all the peculiar happenings around the city, and Jeonghan's incident he encountered with the bodyguards, but "Is that even possible?"

The captain shrugged. "Apparently the pills are specifically circulating within the slums. We don't know why, or how, all we know is what the informant told us."

 _Minghao,_ he heard Junhui finished.

"Apparently he's close to all this, but even he doesn't know everything yet. All that he did was assist in delivering the pills around several locations but he's never traversed closer than that. He didn't know the origin of the pill either or even what it's made of and neither do our labs. Once consumed the pills seemingly just... _disappears._ We'd need a full report from our informant which is scheduled next Tuesday, but currently that's everything we have." the city's been steadily declining into madness; he's exhausted every personnel in the agency, and even help from outside, depleting their resources. To put it simply the captain was desperate, he needed somebody to be in charge of this investigation.

"This is a massive investigation; we know practically nothing, why should I trust you?"

"Captain, I know that the two of us are novices, and you have no reason to trust us blindly on such a polarizing investigation but –" Seungcheol paused, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

"This is our job, this is what we were trained to do," Junhui finished.

The captain was silent only for several moments before he relented, breathing out a reluctant sigh. "You will only investigate the boy and his involvement with the pills and our informant."

Seungcheol couldn't believe his ears, he felt happier than the first time he received the case in the first place. "Does that mean..."

"I trust you two, don't break that trust."

The detectives practically squealed, "Yes, thank you, we won't let you down."

The Captain nodded and the two detectives turned to leave.

"And boys," the two rookies paused in the doorway, turning around, anticipating, “Be careful."

*

If Seungkwan knew anything about his parents, it was that they kept records of their transactions, even the ones that happened secretly, heavily concealed from the justice system. They still recorded it, receipts, just in case.

After Vernon's expertise making certain that yes, they actually needed a sample of overdrive in order to for them to uncover more information; he decided to enlist the assistance of his friends. Seokmin, mostly, but Mingyu really wanted to be included. Joshua couldn't make it, explaining something about needing to visit somebody else who also needed his help. Seungkwan didn't want to monopolize Joshua's time, especially only for moral support, Seokmin was enough.

He had requested Seokmin to create something that would be allowing him to go unnoticed by the security cameras his parent installed inside office. There was his invisibility, unfortunately it wasn't enough. He had a feeling whatever he needed to locate would be inside the almighty drawer. And if seeing the heavy metal drawer open on its own isn't strange enough, the files floating around might signal something when his parents inevitably review the security camera footage.

Luckily, after a thorough explanation on what information Seungkwan knew about the office security system, Seokmin managed to construct something as a solution.

Ever since he discovered the supposedly five minute pills had worked well over the five minute duration, Seungkwan had been persistently interviewing his parents on where exactly did they acquired overdrive from. They lied to his face as effortlessly as breathing, in their minds they probably thought it was in Seungkwan's best interest to be ignorant, but witnessing the adverse side effects the pill possibly possess, Seungkwan _needed_ to know.

He also might've overheard a couple stray conversations; his parent’s referring to the overdrive that he'd consume as an earlier sample. Hearing that solidified the fact that his parents knew something more, the answer was right in Seungkwan's line of vision.

The office.

"Next week, we need to pick out fabrics –" his mother voice floated from her private office all the way descending the stairs.

Seungkwan hesitated only briefly before finally slipping inside the office barely escaping the door shutting behind him. He heard the usual locks clicked into place, a mechanism resulting in the doors opening only from inside the office. He never noticed just how secretive and paranoid his parents were.

"What do you need to hide all the time, huh?" He commented under his breath, knowing full well what the answer was. No elites were immune from cheating every now and again.

Seungkwan had only ever been in his parents’ office a handful of times before. Remembering when he was just a child of elementary school age, when all his difficulties consisted only of what toys he wanted to play with his friends later that afternoon, he would sometimes he allowed visitation inside the office. He missed it, being childlike, just freely breathing, and ignorant. It's sad, he was only nineteen, taking a year hiatus before college, and yet he already felt the weight of the world weighing his shoulders. It shouldn't be like this.

"Now, where..." he scanned the throughout the area, carefully keeping himself concealed from the vision of the cameras inside his parents office. Once located, he immediately tip-toed towards his mother personal computer and started following what Seokmin instructed him to do.

"What is it?"

"It's a drive, I wired it so the cameras would show a loop of your mother's empty office, you’ll have ten minutes."

Seokmin was a bewildering entity, Seungkwan thought, an idiot at times and a magician behind a computer.

After inserting the drive, seeing the red light on it blinking, he took that as indirect permission to remove his camouflage.

Since he discovered a several days ago he had retained his invisibility ability, he figured out several facts surrounding it. One was that it required copious amount of energy and concentration, maybe it was because he was new at it but making himself invisible felt like he was trying to balance concrete on his shoulders and walk on a tightrope simultaneously. Exhausting and attention consuming. The second thing he learned was when he makes other things that extended past his body, like his clothes, invisible, it's even more exhausting.

He was relieved to finally be alleviated of that. He was sure he was about to pass out.

The metal drawers at the further side of the room were ginormous and were one of the only things Seungkwan remembered from the time spent inside this office. His parents were always unforthcoming about the large drawer, not allowing him a look inside. In conclusion, secrets were probably hidden there.

He opened the first drawer, immediately sighing. "Come on," he whined, seeing the multitude of alphabetized documents inside.

Overdrive. O. There were a lot under that, he wasn't sure ten minutes was enough.

After seemingly hours, he finally discovered the document on overdrive, opening it, something small fell. "A tiny flashlight, huh?" It weighed practically nothing and when he switched it on, no light shined from it.

"Weird." He went to rummage more. Seven minutes in he was already exhausted, decidedly slumping himself on his mother's swivel chair. He was giving up; he only discovered that tiny flashlight and nothing important. 

Time was running out, leaning down he tried to ejecting the drive from the computer, not bothering to look, just allowing his hand to blindly guide him. Moving around resulted into something sharp poking his wrist.

"Ow!" He looked towards the culprit and saw something black and shiny sticking out from the folds of the document he'd placed below him. Leaning forward to investigate, he discovered it was an opened envelope.

"What the –“The envelope was black and understated, opening it, revealed a similar looking card contained inside with nothing written on it.

He flipped it over several times, he wasn't sure what it was or why it was carefully concealed. He put it up to the light hoping he would see something, like that awesome invisible writing trick depicted in movies, with writings revealing itself underneath illumination. Of course the card was completely black and opaque, so the light couldn't even shine through it.

But then why would it be hidden, unless – 

"The light." He suddenly remembered, running to the drawer and pulling the flashlight he'd discovered. He had one minute left, he needed to move quickly.

He flicked the switch on, again, no stream of light came through, but he pointed it at the black card and gasped at what was revealed.

"Yellow Snapdragon, Sunday 10 p.m." he read, his cellphone alarm suddenly vibrating, reminding him he only had thirty second left.

"Oh crap." He moved as quickly as he could, returning the flashlight, the card, and the envelope to where it's previously located. Lastly he ejected Seokmin's drive, before turning himself invisible, feeling the thin filament that he coming from within him to encompass every part of his body until it disappeared. After that, he quickly ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.

With three seconds left to spare he released the breath he was holding. It was over.

Finally calming down, he began making his way back, fishing out his phone to call his friends. The line ring for barely a second before somebody clicked to answer. "Guys, I think I found something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments r always appreciated  
> .  
> title from Sabrina Carpenter - No Words <3


	7. Worshipping Murderous Nothing but Evil Duplicitous Men

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's add a lil bit of ✨Junhao

The first time Jun had discovered Minghao was when he wasn't anything but a shadow to the rookies from the agency. He hadn't known what was happening or how he'd ended up surviving a ginormous raid on his (practically) first day. It was for a drug operation that the agency had been working towards cracking down for months, and when they received the substantial information that they needed to locate the gang's latest trade off spot, their response were instantaneous.

It had been one of the first criminal organization compose solely of unregistered mutants, nobody was a human there unless they were held captive.

Jun had been greatly terrified, his knees trembling under the pressure of barely graduating rigorous training and jumping inside something unbelievably important right after. Added to it the intensified nerve-wracking emotions thrumming underneath well trained operatives' skin. It was a waking nightmare; he opted toward clawing his arm, coping, resulting in tiny crescent indents. It stopped himself from attempting to influence everybody's emotions.

Standing there, by the docks behind one of the higher shipping container stacks. He was instructed to stay put, monitor the oncoming situation and learn.

He remembered the uncomfortable silence ringing through the large area, only occasionally being broken by the sound of waves crashing to the shores. The minutes passed droningly underneath the dim moonlight, as trained operatives held their weapons, anticipating the massive oncoming assault.

Junhui could barely swallow enough air into his lungs, his head spinning violently.

And then it came, a steady heartbeat pumping blood through anxious veins, and buried _deep_ within was a singular misplaced emotion that Junhui could only described as something on the opposite side of his expectations. Nobody had noticed the intense emotions that somebody in the area was experiencing – of course they didn't, it wasn't their ability. Junhui felt it though, the anxiety rising up his throat from whoever it was.

"Something's wrong," He had frantically whispered, only to be shut down by a myriad of unnecessary shushes.

 _They don't understand_ , he thought, somebody was deathly afraid.

And then the raid began.

It was a mix of muzzle flashes, dancing bullets through the intensity of the night, screaming men armed to their teeth with weapons all advanced forward in firm and choreographed steps. The smell of sea salt intermingling with the scent of solid metal both from the scraping bullets and the blood.

All the while, the only thing anchoring Junhui was that horribly debilitating mix of emotions of absolute fear.

Everything after was a blur, the banging party ending in a whisper and days to come he caught but a glimpse of that same odd mix of feelings that he had had before.

Minghao had been tranquil, overly so, not a single opening available. He was sitting in the interrogation room, hands rested calmly clasped together like he had chosen it and not because it was handcuffed together.

Junhui was hypnotized, the effortless way the boy had spoken an antithesis to the agitation hidden deep within. It was a marvelous sight to witness somebody lying effortlessly through their teeth, but underneath all that he caught wind of something. The same thing he had caught during the raid but couldn't quite place within his knowledge.

Right now, closer in approximation it was apparent what the emotion was.

Guilt.

It was a whirlwind of uncontrolled motion after that, running straight into the interrogation room and laughing awkwardly.

Junhui didn't know how he had managed to succeed, or how he out of anyone, had received such a kindhearted, unguarded, thankful emotion from the criminal. But that was what transpired; he got a criminal out of dodge in exchange for loyalty.

Junhui wished he could say that that's when the partnership offers were created, but no, he had just merely suggested it at the correct time.

The romance came after.

Recounting everything, even back then Junhui was always loyal to Minghao, never once lied or deluded the other in anyway. For an empath he knew what it felt like being lied to, and it wasn't a nice feeling so he sought to never inflict it onto anybody else. It was quite a stark contrast to his boyfriend whose life literally revolved around calculated heartless deceptions.

Junhui should've realized sooner. Minghao was keeping secrets, that the undercover assignment he was put into wasn't just the regular old neighborhood gang bust. No, Minghao was massively intelligent, his talents wouldn't have been wasted the way Junhui thought it was.

Minghao had received an assignment for _the_ case, the one responsible for half of the destruction currently happening throughout the city. And here Junhui thought he knew the other better.

"It wasn't like I didn't want to tell you." Minghao rested his elbows onto his knees, leaning forward, rubbing all over his face. He wanted nothing more than to just recline backwards on the bed he was sitting on, but he could tell Junhui wasn't ready for any type of relaxation.

The spacious bedroom that they often share felt claustrophobic then. The area, however, provided them with the close approximation that they sorely needed after going so long without. Even if it was unpleasantly forced at the moment.

Junhui thought it was a good thing Seungcheol was patiently waiting until tomorrow for the complete explanation. Even more thankful that Seungcheol had managed to calm Chan down enough not to absolutely destroy Minghao. Not that the kid could, his pyrokinetic abilities were no match for somebody who could literally adapt to almost anything. Seungcheol ended up distracting Chan, explaining, promising Chan thoroughly that he'd be filled in later, providing enough leverage for Minghao to escape that situation.

This was a problem that needed to be faced head on, their relationship – before they could take the case further.

"Why didn't you tell me? I texted you every day during work thinking that you'll definitely be okay at the end of the day, but no, you were playing with fire, you could've –"

"Could've what? – Died?" Minghao scoffed. The whole reason he was able to play undercover in the first place was his very convenient ability. He could adapt to any attack, his powers able to be controlled both consciously and unconsciously. That's how he was so easily accepted – a boy, not of legal age back then, an immigrant no less with barely any understanding of the country's native language – into one of the biggest crime organization in the country. His ability was a blessing that continued defending him even up until now.

Junhui didn't understand how that was even remotely called for, the way Minghao could shrugged it off effortlessly. He could tell that his boyfriend wasn't afraid which was positive to an extent. Junhui just had to make sure the reason Minghao wasn't afraid was because he was confident in his ability, and not because the other was unafraid of dying.

Junhui was already skeptical of the agency’s ability to protect non-official workers, like undercover agents. They didn't particularly care what happened to Minghao and there were a myriad of flaws Junhui could list as a potential danger just because the agency didn't actually care – plain and simple. He wished he could make an impact in the agency enough to renew their rules and regulations when it came to protection. But he couldn't and Minghao could die as a result.

The former thought didn't sit well with Junhui, something similar to devastation cracking through his already frayed worried face.

Minghao soften up a bit at that at least, his shoulder releasing the tension that was there as he breathed a relieved sigh. This wasn't going to turn into a screaming match – which was a rarity between them but devastating when it happens – and he was grateful.

Minghao motion towards the spot beside him, watching his boyfriend's downturned head walked slowly towards the bed, his hand immediately corralling the smaller one's body. From this spot, with Junhui buried in his neck, Minghao thought his boyfriend resembled a wounded puppy.

"You trust me don't you?"

"Of course."

"Then you trust that I will do everything in my power to always come home to you."

The silence was perceived as hesitation, which meant _no,_ Junhui didn't fully trust that.

"I'm not the same boy I was years ago, I'm not as reckless," Minghao said in earnest, leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I have something to live for now." He added a squeeze to the others, settling comfort deep within Junhui's chest. Right then he knew, Minghao _was_ afraid, but it was of losing him.

"I love you."

They shared a chase kiss, warmth spreading from the tiny motion. It was the first falling water droplet before the dam broke and they were tumbling backwards in a heaping mess of tangled bed sheets.

There were plot holes to whatever future they had constructed together. External forces sought for them both to self-destruct. Junhui would do his utmost to protect Minghao, make changes within the agency as best he could. He knew it wasn't his boyfriend's fault the agency was flawed and if Minghao wanted to stay then he'd support it. But he won't do nothing, he would try, however it may be, to construct a better environment. Somehow.

For a moment, it felt like the universe was perfect inside the ignorant bubble they were in, and all they could do was embrace each other. Now all they had to do was keep each other safe.

*

Grabbing a cup of coffee from the break room so early in the morning really did hit different, when the air lingering was too cold to be refreshing and perspiration fogged up the windows. Practically nobody was at the agency, whether it was because they were out on a case, attempting to solve whatever shit-storm's happening outside, or because they were home enjoying their early dawn with tranquil unconsciousness. Seungcheol though, was here because of one reason.

To get answers.

Several days ago was a headache of a time, Junhui's racing thought had been really difficult to barricade, even though Seungcheol's numerous self-thought mind-blocking techniques, some anxiety-ridden thoughts managed to escape. Truthfully, the pleading eyes of his partner were what cemented his decision, the complicated emotions bleeding through it. Junhui needed time and Seungcheol was willing to wait.

Seungcheol allowed the couple to escape, despite Chan's disagreeing shout that reverberated long after Junhui's car drove away. Seungcheol was stranded, with no idea how he could calm down the victim and his rightfully furious family.

It was almost impossible, with him receiving unsympathetically cold glares from everyone every time he refused to uncover any more information. Mainly because he didn't have the full information himself. The sporadic glimpses he caught from the couple wasn't nearly enough for him to impart said knowledge. Unable to decipher it just yet, he decided to wait, let the fire breathe before he extinguished it.

It was unfair to the victim's family, he's aware, but his first substantial case had unexpectedly spiraled into something out of his depths. He was clueless.

"If you have no information for us then leave."

"No, Jeonghan hyung, he has to know! He has to!"

A screaming match full of overwhelmed emotions was clearly scheduled in their future, Seungcheol felt horrible for causing it.

"Hey, maybe we should calm ourselves first," the odd one out – Joshua, his head supplied, had suggested before pushing the quarrelling brothers into their claustrophobic apartment, Jeonghan going willingly, a strong grip, pulling harshly on his younger brother's wrist, who'd refused to move.

"Please," Jeonghan pleaded voice soft, which loosen the tug in between them, but Chan didn't surrender.

The impromptu staring competition, followed by the steadily heating hands of Chan was an incredible sight to witness. The way that Jeonghan had steadfastly refused to release his grip on the younger one, knowing the risk of being burned. It was so intimate and simultaneously violent that it struck something inside Seungcheol.

This wasn't what he'd imagined would unfold when he thought of reuniting Chan with his family. There should be stunned silence, love, and melancholy but instead his lack of experience handling a case ruined all of that. He felt like an intruder.

He would've run if it weren't for his stubborn savior complex bolting him to the ground.

One of the other boys – Soonyoung, the hacker, his mind reminded, was standing in the corner; face carefully concealed with only a hint of concern shining through his facial expressions, body rigid. Everything about Soonyoung screamed 'tense' – like he, someone Seungcheol had assumed was an important part of the family – was intruding as well. And Seungcheol thought that maybe he wasn't the only one there pretending to be strong when his knees were buckling for the sake of everyone else. Seungcheol couldn't begin to imagine how thick a skin one had to develop, living to witness these kinds of pressure affecting your family every day. _He_ deserved better, Seungcheol thought, they all do.

"You know what he would do don't you? What they always do! They'll leave and they won't tell us anything, won't help in anyway. Pretend like we don't exist, like we don't matter. You know this!"

" _No._ " Even without the same blood coursing through their veins, it seemed stubbornness ran in their family. The only other person who seemed understandable in their mannerism was Joshua, who only sighed exasperatedly, like he'd been through this before. Maybe he had.

"Guys, come on stop this." Joshua's words fell on deaf ear.

" _Hyung."_

__

__

_"Chan."_

Seungcheol registered too late the smell of burning flesh, and when he did he frantically ran forward, forcibly breaking the two brothers apart. "Jeonghan!"

Chan startled backwards, his eyes blinking rapidly at the charred flesh, the smoke. "Hyung," he whispered, and this time it sounded apologetic. "Hyung – I –"

Seungcheol's immediately grabbed Jeonghan's hands, eyes frantically searching for the sink – anything. "Where's your bathroom? Do you have a first aid kit? Where –"

"It's fine." Jeonghan's skin began shifting colors, stitching itself back up and Seungcheol stood back in surprise.

"Hyung I'm sorry, I –"

"Its fine, Chan." Jeonghan's tone conveyed anything but 'fine', but they let it go.

Chan's stomach churned with guilt almost immediately. They've done this before during disagreements, but never once had Chan gone as far as to burn Jeonghan. Before Chan knew it, he was crying, falling backwards on the bed, curling in on himself.

That's when Soonyoung finally move from his previous position, protective arms curling routinely around the sobbing boy, like his only purpose was to be strong. Jeonghan's stare were both sad and unbreakable looking at them, his hand were clenching around his steadily healing wrist. Then it was Joshua's turn to rest his hand on Jeonghan's shoulder, resulting in two added occupants surrounding the mattress.

"I'm really sorry," Chan sobbed.

There were no shushing or exchanges of comforting words, but somehow the connection between them felt incredibly strong. They were acknowledging everything in their own way, their pain, their disappointment – their grief.

Seungcheol only then realized that the family hasn’t been allotted the chance to do that yet and it made him feel like a disruption. He needed to go, leave this poor family alone, and finish the case for them.

Suddenly the determination within him ignited again. Stalking forward, he reached inside his pocket, taking out a random piece of paper and a pen, writing much needed information on it.

"Here." He held out the card with as much certainty as he could muster, nodding for Chan to take it.

It might've hurt Seungcheol a bit, to be overwhelmed with their mixture of emotion-driven thoughts, especially when Chan stared with his tear-stained eyes directly at him. "What's this?"

"My phone number, so you can call me later if I ended up taking too long getting you that explanation – and my badge number, so you can write me up anonymously to my superior if I fail you in some way." He thought that that would make Chan ease whatever negative feelings were swimming inside his chest.

"Thank you, detective, we’ll be sure to call you," Joshua said, the polite smile feeling more like a dismissal.

Seungcheol nodded, feeling oddly sadden by the thought of departing. There was something inside the tiny apartment that was drawing Seungcheol towards it. Something was missing within his chest.

He was halfway out the door when Chan muttered something that halted him. "You better come through; I swear I've been lied to too many times in this life."

It was halfway through his subway ride home did he realize the feeling that drew him into that cramped apartment. It was longing.

The turn of a new day brought a newer perspective to Seungcheol. The agency he saw in front of him, he realized, was horribly imperfect. That family that he left was his first time experiencing such blatant disregard on the small folks. It made him wonder if any other detectives have felt the same way him, this disjointed disappointment. Change had to be made, and it would start with him if it had to.

That's why he was here; exhausted, determined, waiting for Minghao and Junhui to finish with recording their complete statements. Apparently, Minghao was an informant, and it was mandatory for him to do that within a certain period of time. The function was so the undercover informant would _stay,_ undercover.

He waited at his desk, steaming up his face with the warm cup in his hand, leaning back on his chair, eyes closed. His stomach grumbled, demanding breakfast but he ignored it. He had made plans to eat out with Junhui and Minghao right after their talk anyway. Instead he chose to relive whatever he felt whilst departing Chan's apartment.

Maybe it's a combination of things; how Jeonghan had so steadily ignore Chan's outburst, how he'd let the other _burn_ him, and how they ended the night together. All their problems didn't suddenly disappeared but it was a wonderful sight to see, _familial._

Another thing that he couldn't ignore was how his mind felt inside Jeonghan's. He didn't know how to describe it, the instantaneous connection that they shared. It was palpable and incredibly strong, so strong that it became difficult for him to pull away at the time. Staggering after Chan was an indescribably difficult feat. And even then...

There's something about that shapeshifter.

He almost fell asleep daydreaming his memories when a familiar but unexpected footsteps echoed towards him, followed by the forefront of thoughts scratching his mind before sarcastic words began spilling through.

"Choi."

"Jihoon." Seungcheol begrudgingly sit himself back up, getting a small tentative sip before resting his cup on his desk. He didn't expect the forensic technician to visit him unprompted this early in the morning. "Can I help you with something?"

"You're on a case right?" Jihoon sat himself in his usual seat – stolen. The person he stole the chair from squinted menacingly but made no attempts at complaining; only huffing under his breath before walking away.

Seungcheol chuckled; Jihoon could be ridiculously entertaining in his obliviousness and general anti-socialness. There was a headache throbbing away at Seungcheol's temple but the sight of Jihoon, someone familiar within the agency alleviated some of it.

"Yeah."

"Pills?"

"How did you –"

Jihoon rolled his eyes. "Everybody else are doing it, it's just that all of them hadn't prove themselves useful in obtaining a viable subject for me yet," He said frowning, he needed to progress on his research, certain that he had discovered the tip of a massive ice berg, but the water was deep and murky, he needed some sort of leverage to see the scale of this peculiar phenomenon spreading seemingly only within the city.

"You need a subject? For what?"

"The pills, I've been trying to synthesize them but it's really hard when it disappears almost instantly after being in contact with organic body – well, we don't know if it's instantly _yet_ , since nobody can seem to follow instruction and bring me back a subject on overdrive and the pills themselves."

"Have you asked the other detectives?"

"Of course," Jihoon said, a slight redness covering his ears indirectly informed Seungcheol of the embarrassing lie.

"Uh huh...and you wonder why me and Junhui's the only people that hang out with you." Seungcheol was a telepath, it made it a hell of a lot easier for him to decipher that the cold shoulders, and the snide critiques Jihoon spews out, it was just how the technician's attempts at friendliness manifested. Then there was Junhui who knew the content of the other's heart even before he knew Jihoon's name. The technician had a bit of a reputation as the resident egotistical bad ass, but it could get lonely at the top. Seungcheol and Junhui just so happened to know how to climb.

"Whatever, can you help, or are you as incompetent as everyone else here?" Jihoon rubbed at his eyes, he was beginning to get frustrated. What kind of pill is overdrive? Why couldn't he seemed to find any traces of it even only minutes had passed since the body was transferred to him – not even in their hair follicles! Nothing. That didn't even remotely answers the mystery of how overdrive seemed to be affecting mutagene and DNA interactions itself. Then there was the exploding thing...

Seungcheol startled in his seat, watching the contents of the technician's laboratory bombarding his psyche. It was in disarray, things scattered haphazardly around metal tables, pushed to the side, presumably making room to uncommonly shaped plants – at least, Seungcheol hoped those were plants. Whatever it was grew coiling from the auburn dirt beneath, climbing all the way up to the ceiling. It had strange skin-like qualities to its vines, and on ends of them there were dangling pods that looked like what Seungcheol imagines an amniotic sack would look like. From the momentary reading, he could vividly see that it was throbbing. _Throbbing._

"What have you been up to?" Seungcheol's face contorted in disgust, this was why he always felt wary of visiting Jihoon's laboratory. The other would sometimes passively insinuate that Seungcheol should visit at times. Seungcheol would always indulge him, but whenever he did always resulted in him being thoroughly flabbergasted on what exactly Jihoon could do both as a mutant and a technician.

"You saw the thing didn't you?" Jihoon deadpanned. Seungcheol said nothing, unfurling the tension building between his eyebrows, mumbling a quiet sorry. Jihoon sighed. "It's a human-plant hybrid I made so I could use it as a test subject if we ever acquired those pills. It's safer that way."

Seungcheol nodded mindlessly, not understanding anything. "You scare me sometimes Jihoon."

The other smiled in contentment.

"So can you get me a subject who's been in contact with overdrive and overdrive itself?"

"I guess so...but the pills, it's..."

"They track them." Minghao was walking towards them, several case file on one hand and Junhui in the other.

"Track them?"

Minghao nodded. "They counted them before they're put into the market and they gave them out to slumrats desperate enough for this."

"Why?" Jihoon asked, there's got to be a motive for such an elaborate distribution plan, only for the pills to end up in some random slumrats possession.

"I don't know, but that's what my last drop-off guy did before..."

Chan tried to burn him alive, Seungcheol remembered.

"Right." Seungcheol told the pair to sit, grabbing any chairs available and coalescing around his cubicle. "You're done with the statements?"

"Yup, it wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be." Junhui breathed out a nervous chuckle, Seungcheol took note on his partner's lie. He was sure the rapid occurrence couldn't have been pleasant for either people to sort out, he was just glad that they did.

Seungcheol gave his partner a reassuring smile, making the tension in Junhui's back gave way. Junhui wasn't the only one good with figuring out emotions.

"I'll explain everything now."

Seungcheol nodded, attention already wrapped. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows onto his knees and prompted Minghao to continue.

Minghao looked warily to the vertically challenged human, who seemed to be leaning closer as well. Who was he? "Who –”

"Jihoon, he's the resident forensic technician. He's cool," Seungcheol explained.

"Are you sure?"

"Ahh! What part of he's cool do you not understand, huh?"

Minghao reeled, not expecting hostility to be the other's default.

_Jihoon._

__

__

_Choi._

Seungcheol shook his head, Jihoon was definitely in denial.

"And you ask why me and Junhui –"

"Yeah, yeah, just...sorry," He reluctantly mumbled towards Minghao, extending a hand in greeting that Seungcheol vaguely associate with kindergarten students forced to make up by their teachers. "Lee Jihoon."

Minghao took the technician's hand gingerly, the word 'the8' almost slipping his tongue before catching himself. This was Junhui's friend and coworker, and technically right now he wasn't on the job. "Minghao."

After the slight detour of the subject, they returned to their conversation. Minghao was quick and decisive in relaying the information needed, from his surface involvement in transporting the pills, to his involvement with the abduction. Though, at the time he didn't know it was an abduction. He just saw a bunch of children being taken into a hospital; they had appeared sickly to him so he assumed that's what it was. It wasn't until that one kid, Chan, woke up for a fraction of a second mumbling about how he needed to get home.

Minghao was only there as the bodyguard once again when the children were moved to that new abandoned hospital location. Truthfully he knew something other than an innocent free healthcare was definitely brewing beneath, but his position was to observe and report back information. His job was not to play hero and yet...

There were children, fully awake but incoherent being sheep-herded inside ambulances, looking bleary-eyed and vaguely disgruntled. For a while, he had ignored his conscience gnawing at him. Then the ambulance door closed behind him and the vehicle started driving away and the decision to stay put was made for him.

There were the last group, hooked up to IV's and machinery Minghao couldn't begin guessing what the function was. They all looked deathly pale; he had to swallow down bile that had risen up his throat. These were children.

"Help." he remembered hearing those desperate words, barely whispered out, accompanied by the strong grip to his wrist. He didn't remember much except for the deafening blood pumping in his ears. Nobody was surrounding him except for these unconscious kids and the one currently cementing his surprisingly strong grip onto him.

He didn't think, didn't even hesitate before nodding, hands scrambling to do...something.

He pressed buttons frantically, reading the words describing each function and wiggled out the IV needle, puncturing the bag and standing back abruptly when somebody walked towards him.

By the time the personnel arrived, the kid had already slipped back into a coma and Minghao breathed a sigh both for relief and disappointment. He couldn't do much else except hope nobody had noticed the machine had been tampered with and that he was the one responsible.

It was a good thing what he did wasn't all in vein.

"You saved someone."

"I could've compromised my position."

"But you saved someone." Junhui took Minghao's hand in his, rubbing them comfortingly in-between his own.

Seungcheol had never seen a more affectionate look coming from his partner, it was quite adorable. So much so that it flustered Jihoon who coughed when he eventually couldn't take it.

"Get a room."

"Jealous?" Seungcheol countered, watching Jihoon gradually embodied a tomato

"No," his mouth said, just as his mind said _maybe_.

Seungcheol chuckled. "So, you have to contact someone right, to get a job? Or someone contacts you?" Junhui questioned, sobering up the other two immediately.

"Right, there's this guy, goes by the name Axis. He's the one who usually contacts me. But he did give me a burner cell with a number on it so I can contact him. It's for emergencies only."

The image that came with the thought of 'Axis' unnerved Seungcheol quite a bit. The guy frightens Minghao enough to project his thoughts of the guy quite vividly. He did looked menacing, with a hard-set jaw, a permanent scowl seemingly etched onto his face, and the pièce de résistance was the silver scar drawing from the man's head all the way down diagonally across his face, rendering one of the eyes useless as it indicated with the murky grey color.

Seungcheol shuddered, doing his best to shake the intimidating figure out of his mind. "Can you call and ask to meet him? Tell him you need more jobs or something."

Minghao winced, he could...but it was dangerous, especially if Axis thought his excuse for calling him wasn't good enough. Or worst that he caught on that he was up to something.

"No, it's too dangerous Seungcheol." Junhui had his arms protectively around Minghao's waist, shaking his head. After understanding most of the things he thought he knew about Minghao's job description was a lie, nobody could really blame him for being wary in trusting Minghao to do this incredibly dangerous thing.

"We need to know where Chan was taken and where those pills came from – we have to know _something."_

"But –"

"Junhui." Minghao stared at his boyfriend's, earnestly, an undertone of warning behind them. Seungcheol made a point to block him away from the private conversation going through between their heads, unwilling to cross that line.

Junhui wasn't a telepath but he got the message anyways.

_Trust that I'll come home to you._

"I'll do it," Minghao affirmed, and this time no protests came.

Jihoon suddenly clapped, startling everyone. "Well great, once you're done with that make sure that my request is fulfilled, yeah? Just be sure to get them to me immediately if you can." With that he stood up, walking away from the trio back to his laboratory.

"Aren't you going to eat with us?"

"Nope, I'm gonna go play with some corpses and mutant plants, thanks," he said before turning a corner.

"What request?"

Seungcheol waved a hand as if to say later as a temporary answer.

"Is he always like..." Minghao started, Seungcheol nodded his affirmation.

"But he's friendly on the inside."

"What does friendly on the inside even mean?"

Seungcheol shrugged. He was glad to take some load off his shoulders now that a couple of his duties had been executed. Minghao would inform him late on Axis and his next mission, but overall he was content. He was optimistic that he could solve whatever this is, or at least help alleviate the problem.

He needed to inform Chan on Minghao's explanation. He should give them a call, Chan had since texted, begging for some sort of information, and now Seungcheol at least had something to convey.

Maybe after food though.

"So...breakfast?"

*

The three of them were at the apartment, like they usually were. Ever since the incident, unpredictable tension had encompassed their whole mood these past few days. Jeonghan felt compelled to realigned himself and remember that somebody he had cared for so dearly, Chan, after being heartlessly stolen right from underneath him, had finally returned in one piece. Chan held no traumatic memories to relive upon, just an empty darkness where a year worth of memories should be. It unnerved the boy quite a bit, but Jeonghan couldn't begin to understand why Chan was incredibly stubborn in not moving on.

So a movie it was, provided through an illegal pirated site discovered by Soonyoung, about an unlikable loner girl trying to survive her teenage years whilst denying her best friend and brother the ability to love they deserved.

It was an uninteresting enough premise that Soonyoung fell asleep, but Jeonghan stayed awake sharing an unbreakable silence between Chan who was in a more calmer mood now then he was yesterday. Jeonghan was grateful for these miniscule pockets of time where there was only tranquil silence that he could pretend nothing ever went incredibly wrong in their lives.

"Did you ever..." Chan bit his lip as soon as those words came out, shaking his head like he was stupid for asking. "Never mind."

It caught Jeonghan's curiosity that he sat up, carefully rearranged Soonyoung's head onto his lap instead of his shoulder before addressing Chan. "What?"

Chan made several aborted motion, his brain scrambling to allocate a better way to iterate what he needed to say.

"Did you ever think I was dead?"

Jeonghan was at a loss for words, but the hesitant silence was answer enough.

"It was my fault; I shouldn't have let you go on your own. I was too greedy."

"That wasn't what I ask."

Just like that they'd reverted back to their previously heavy silence.

Jeonghan sighed, relenting to the hold that the pyrokinetic boy had on his conscience. Lying to Chan was impossible; he never managed to deliver it convincingly.

"I stayed up all night for the first couple of months trying to find you," he began, absentmindedly caressing Soonyoung's hair away from the boy's face. Soonyoung stirred but otherwise didn't wake up, instead burrowing closer to the shapeshifter's stomach. "It was either with Joshua or Soonyoung; they'd always force me back home whenever I'm nearing my breaking point."

Chan recognized Jeonghan was stalling; it was completely pointless since the answer to the question was already obvious. Maybe Jeonghan understood once he concluded the answer it would subsequently open a floodgate of emotionally drive conversations, cementing how far away the finish point was. Maybe he wanted to maintain their bubble of peaceful silence they've constructed for a second longer.

"I did everything to try and find you – even visited the agency, but of course that resulted in absolutely nothing. We search news article too, and there was one..."

Jeonghan hesitated, tears brimming his eyes, a lump in his throat preventing him from continuing. He realized he had to have this conversation at some point that it's imperative in order for them to move on. He just found it incredibly difficult to relive the period of time where he had mourned the disappearance of his brother and reluctantly moved on from it without receiving any answers. Because of that, the feeling of devastation that followed him had now returned and even though he pretended well enough that he was okay for the several months now, he knew he still wasn't. He was severely overwhelmed to appreciate the miracle of Chan returning.

"There was this one article about an unidentified body found just at the outskirts of town, buried. The body was... _burnt_. A-and I –"

"You thought it was me," Chan completed. Out of everything that could kill him, fire was not one of them, the fact that Jeonghan considered this meant he was desperate; his grief-stricken mind had become irrational. Chan suddenly felt incredibly guilty for giving Jeonghan a difficult time recently – even before.

"It matched your description – the height, the built, I know it was stupid of me but I –"Jeonghan didn't want to finish – was he so desperate for closure that he had seen Chan's face in a nameless dead body? "You were all I have."

Chan immediately buried his face in Jeonghan's neck, drawing himself closer to the older comfortingly. Jeonghan was who had guided him to survive his unfortunate circumstances. It pains him that his chosen brother was hurting. He loved him, had missed him desperately despite the absence of memory accompanying his one year missing.

Jeonghan felt the increasing dampness penetrating through his thin t-shirt, but made no attempts in pushing Chan away, instead holding the other closer towards himself, resting his chin atop of the younger's head. Soonyoung didn't rustle below them, but Jeonghan drew him closer anyways. At that moment, he needed to feel closer, his heart vulnerable after finally beginning to process his emotions. They were all he had besides Joshua, whose presence could be felt in the space between them.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Chan let the older process the overwhelming feelings before vocalizing his steadfast determination. The pain that Jeonghan went through just cemented his convictions. He needed to find closure, for them both.

"So you understand why though – that I need to do this? Promise me you'd tell me if something happens, if detective Choi comes out with more information." Chan's aware of the calls recently exchanged between the detective and his brother, late at night when he supposedly had fallen asleep. Jeonghan had yet to relay anything considerable, but Chan had a feeling that if there was a substantial development in the case, Jeonghan's intention was to shield him away from it as thoroughly as possible.

Jeonghan sighed, the sound resonating deep within his ribcage. He wanted to refuse, instead forcing the other to move on, but it wasn't the right thing. Besides, it was pointless. "I promise."

Instantly they returned to the tranquil undisturbed silence they shared before. The swaying breeze coming in through the large cracks in the wall providing enough cool air for them to finally sleep.

Soonyoung to his credit, pretended to be a man dead to the world quite excellently. He didn't rustle or fallen unconscious, balancing between the area of unconsciousness and wakefulness.

Keeping an eye out for his family had always been his primary precedence and admittedly, the 'you're all I have comment' considerably wounded him. They were all capable individuals, growing up in the slums would do that to a person, but he was one of the last to be acknowledged by them and that's why he always tried to be useful. Even Joshua, who came after, fell quickly into step with Jeonghan like they were twins separated at birth. He felt standoffish and unwelcomed sometimes in numerous situations.

That's why he couldn't possibly sleep, even if he's exhausted. If he'd chosen to remain awake then the silence Jeonghan and Chan shared would've stretched until days ahead. Soonyoung knew he was loved by them, that he was never far from either of their minds, but he sometimes felt like a purposeless fragment of a machine. Keeping a brave face, keeping his family safe was his priority; mainly because he cared for them, but partly because he felt like if he didn't then he was expandable.

Suddenly, Soonyoung felt the soft thrumming vibration resonating through his back, indicating the two above him had finally fallen asleep. Purposefully stirring, he awaited for the two to wake. When they didn't, he sat up, being extremely careful, avoiding knocking down the brothers leaning against one another. He rearranged both of them until they were lying beside each other, throwing a thin blanket over them before burrowing down himself.

"You guys are all _I_ have," He muttered brokenly into the unforgiving evening air. He simultaneously felt warm and alone in his position, nestled in-between his brothers. He's aware that their conversation wasn't over, that their days ahead would be brimming with numerous negatives and positives before anything could possibly return to how they were before.

Soonyoung readily accepted the responsibility of maintaining everybody's safety, recognizing something destructive cultivating within him. Maybe it was his ability signaling his impending future, or maybe deep inside he just knew, but right now, he'd let the tranquility of their heartbeats lull him into a heavy mindless sleep, hoping for something better tomorrow morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this its back to a chapter every two weeks cus i got exams coming up but...hope u all find it worth it so far. Thnks <3  
> .  
> .  
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> Comments r always appreciated  
> Chapter title from Run The Jewels - Let's Go


	8. Turn This Grave Into a Rave

Days that trickled by without any new development become straining, like Seungcheol couldn't attempt anything other than waiting. He ended up spending it either researching as thoroughly as possible, traversing every insignificant information that they had. Otherwise he's started calling Jeonghan, relaying the same information he had repeatedly.

It was a little unprofessional of him, he was aware, but Jeonghan didn't seem to mind. Surprisingly, the two got off well; they'd always ended up conversing adamantly about something completely unrelated to the investigation.

"I don't know, i just thought the movie was better, alright!"

"Seungcheol, you do realize I only said the book was better cause I can't afford the movie, right?"

Seungcheol would pause, biting his lips regretfully, hissing quietly. "Ahh...shit, Jeonghan. Well, maybe we could go after..."

Seungcheol couldn't finish, after what? The case? That could be years.

"Right." How did it come to this? They were talking about informants for fuck sake. "And maybe I could take you to a library – y'know books? Paper that you can _hold,_ Seungcheol?" Jeonghan had teased.

"It's a promise."

From their long-winded conversations, Seungcheol would always be reminded of the moment he accessed inside Jeonghan's memories, how he witness the shapeshifter's extremely dangerous 'missions'. It got his mind worrying until eventually his concerns started diverting his attention. 

Jeonghan's job was actually similar to Minghao's. 

"I know the money's there but what about health benefits?"

"Seungcheol, why should I trust them?"

 _Trust me,_ was what he wanted to say.

"The agency's corrupt."

"Do you think I am?"

Those concerns, Seungcheol realize, were completely inappropriate and were beyond pushing boundaries. But he couldn't help but care; slowly he would subtly voice these concerns. Jeonghan would notice and even though the shapeshifter was flattered, he knew the darkness within authorities. Seungcheol's charisma wouldn't change that.

Besides, Jeonghan could be equally as charming – enough so that his voice would hypnotize Seungcheol, accompanying the detective to sleep.

"– point is, I hate changes too but –"

"This reminds me of a book... somehow."

Seungcheol would sigh, leaned his head further from where it was hanging of his couch and listened. Because unfortunately, he's unable to retain the ability of denying Jeonghan of anything now. "What's it about?"

"A girl, getting too much attention," Jeonghan would pause just to build the tension. "It's Chuck Palahniuk’s book, have you heard about it? Also, How far are you from banging your head on your coffee table again Choi Seungcheol?"

"It's not my fault, I was tired okay!"

"Okay Choi Seungcheol...so about that book..."

The last thing he hear before succumbing to his exhaustion was a vague, "I feel overwhelmed, Choi Seungcheol." And a "Goodnight."

His head didn't in fact, hit the coffee table again. On the contrary, in his dream he was floating, weightless, nobody warranted any of his concerns. Until the shrill ringing rudely interrupted his therapeutic hallucinations.

The room was dark, no signs of illumination streaming between his window curtains, it wasn't morning yet. He groaned, blindly groping his surroundings, searching for the source of the incessant ringing.

He answered.

"He's got a meeting."

Seungcheol blearily looked at the digital clock beside his bed, blinking '03:03', then groaning loudly into the speaker.

"What?"

"Minghao, he got the meeting. We should start coming up with our full plan."

Seungcheol sat bolt upright then. He'd been patiently waiting days to receive confirmation that they could proceed with their initial plan. Since then he had numerous opportunities to research everything needed about Axis. He didn't uncover much, but the things that he unearthed was quite...concerning to say the least. Axis was a dangerous man; Seungcheol was reluctant to involve himself. He'll do it, of course he would, that was his purpose as a detective after all.

"Right, I'll get back to you on that."

There was a pregnant pause, Junhui's ragged breathing coming out crackly through the receiver.

"What is it?"

"It’s really happening, huh? Us becoming real detectives? I-Its kinda nerve wracking.

"Yeah." There was a fondness and a hint of nervousness layering their voices. Junhui must've been unable to sleep without relaying this information to Seungcheol. He was probably overly anxious to wait until morning, and that's why he called at whatever o'clock in the morning. 

It should be cause for celebration, but somehow Seungcheol was...hesitant. Which was confusing, whilst simultaneously understandable. With that hesitation though, he felt his conviction growing once again, a chance to prove that he was different. Somehow. He did care. He wanted this.

It was finally registering how... _real_ everything was. And with all they have witness as a trainee and eventually as detective rookies, standing with false brevity, attempting to solve this kind of problem felt like a whole beast entirely. It was much more intimidating.

"We'll be great."

"We'll be amazing." Seungcheol reaffirmed.

They shared the static silence between them several beats longer before saying their goodbyes and settling into bed, a thrum of anticipation coaxing them to sleep. And that night, Seungcheol's dreams were invaded with someone who shouldn't have affected the way he viewed himself so quickly.

*

After their nightly confrontation, every day since felt surprisingly tense. Chan was an amazing kid, but Jeonghan's aware of his brother’s determination.

The information they received were barely viable, snippets of an unfinished investigation. It wasn't enough, not for Soonyoung, and certainly not for Chan. But it was enough for Jeonghan, the sooner he got to forget the incident, building replacement memories for when Chan was missing, the sooner he'll be able to return to how thing was before.

The frequency of Seungcheol's calls also increased recently. Their late night long distance rendezvous had mutated into a sort of tradition. 

Seungcheol would subtly ask. Jeonghan would reject.

And all the while they'll share a tension only soulmates could possibly possess. That's why Jeonghan had called up Seungcheol again, feeling like he needed somebody to lament towards who weren't Joshua or Soonyoung. He needed somebody foreign enough, unfamiliar with the inner mechanism of his family, and observed it from a third person perspective.

Unexpectedly, Seungcheol also wanted to call him. There's been a development in the case.

"So when is this undercover thing happening?"

"Tomorrow, probably, I'm really sorry I can't tell you more, I'm sure Chan isn't overly happy right now."

"It's okay."

"No, I'm sure he's pretty pissed off that he couldn't confront one of the people responsible for his kidnapping."

Jeonghan pursed his lips in consideration, flipping over onto his stomach where he laid beside a peacefully sleeping Chan. He played with the boy's hair, fingers combing through the short brunette locks.

Jeonghan didn't think Chan was angry per-say. Yes, he was frustrated, and with someone as energetic and passionate as Chan, it often manifested into something similar to anger. But he wasn't furious at his center, just...tired, and afraid, but most of all hurting.

The younger might not be ready to give everything up yet even if Jeonghan was. Right now, the shapeshifter contented him with just cuddling the sleeping boy from behind; enjoying the warmth he received from it after going forever without. Soonyoung was almost always there after Chan disappeared, but his warmth could never replace his self-adopted little brother. It wasn't less than, just...different. The same way Soonyoung couldn't be replaced by anybody else.

"Jeonghan?"

The muffled crackly sound of the detective startled Jeonghan from his caressing. 

"I'm here, it's fine, Chan'll be fine."

"How about you? Are _you_ okay?" 

Seungcheol actually was concerned with Jeonghan; their exchanges of calls always begin with Seungcheol. Now Jeonghan had called first and he sounded tired.

Seungcheol wanted to hold him.

"I'm fine Seungcheol – I'm a slumrat remember?"

Seungcheol winced, and Jeonghan almost forgot what a sensitive subject it was to Seungcheol. Whilst Jeonghan was prideful of whatever that came with being a hard-working man, Seungcheol didn't like his dishonest ways. 

That maybe was one thing that they genuinely disagree on – their perspective on their own economical statuses was tinted with pride. It made it difficult for either of them to empathize.

Jeonghan would surrender for today though. "I'll be fine, I'm gonna go out for another run with Soonyoung anyways." And the second he said it, Jeonghan knew it was a horrible subject to divert towards.

There was a pause; Jeonghan didn't have to be a telepath to know what the detective wanted to say. The other subject that's been dangling over them both ever since their first encounter of one another.

"Spit it out, Seungcheol." 

Jeonghan could hear Seungcheol inhales clearly across the line, so he knew the telepath was there. 

"Listen, I just found out Junhui basically arranged Minghao's partnership, so I'm sure I could –"

"No."

"No wait just...here me out."

" _No._ "

"Please." From the brief couple of weeks period of their call exchanges, Jeonghan discover Seungcheol pleaded in a way that if you rejected him, it'd feel like you've stabbed a puppy with a corroded knife. It was irritating and somehow, comforting.

Seungcheol took the silence as an opportunity to explain, rattling off bullet points on why Jeonghan should accept an offer from the agency. From it being beyond saver for him and his family, and the fact that it provided steady income. Everything was pointing towards Seungcheol's idea being a brilliant one, except for one very stupid (admittedly) but persistent detail.

Jeonghan's pride.

"Seungcheol, we both know why that's not going to happen."

Chan wouldn't like it if he accepted the offer and Soonyoung would follow his decision whatever it was so he wouldn't be dismayed with the rejection.

Jeonghan was a slumrat, an entity of pure survival mechanism and callousness. He formed relationships, by some miracle, with a couple people living in and out of his world. They accepted him for who he was, somebody who was smart and cunning in ways society wouldn't be able to accept. The offer would be nice if Jeonghan weren't oblivious to conventional work methods. He had never had a formal education, legally not a dollar to his name, had been arrested several times under different disguises that he frequently changes, and had inflicted pain onto numerous people who may or may not deserved it. He wasn't an honest man and he didn't want to be.

Maybe somewhere along the way he also realized how little he's practically worth. The agency, corrupted as it was, had standards. Standards Jeonghan didn't think he would meet. Otherwise, the agency also persecuted people like him, why would he help them?

"I'm sorry."

Seungcheol sighed, disappointed in himself for even asking. Regardless the effect managed to make Jeonghan feel like he just got reprimanded for something he was blameless for. Otherwise, his chest felt heavy, his heart increasing its palpitation. This only ever occurred when he knew he made the wrong decision but was unwilling to change it.

 _shit_.

"It's fine, just...tell me if you change your mind – and, oh, tell Soonyoung too. The offer extends to him."

"Okay."

"Oh and Jeonghan..." the detective paused; like he barely held back whatever it was he wanted to say.

"Yeah," Jeonghan said softly in retribution.

"Be careful, just promise me that." It wasn't what the detective wanted to say, Jeonghan could tell, but he wasn't going to pry. 

"Of course."

The line went dead after that and Jeonghan was forced to succumb into the darkness and silence of his claustrophobically small apartment.

He was a little annoyed at himself for allowing somebody like Seungcheol, a detective no less, to wiggle his way into his life so quickly. Of course their relationship was thin at best, initially fueled by their increasing overprotectiveness of Chan. The only other person he let wiggle their way inside so rapidly was Joshua, and even then it took more than just a couple of weeks.

There was a disconcerting feeling blooming inside Yoon Jeonghan's chest, a Gordian knot that needed to cut in some way. He just hadn't find a sharp enough object yet.

*

Seungcheol slept feeling overwhelmed and unbelievably worried for somebody he technically had no substantial connection with whatsoever. That was what it entails when you're a telepath. Knowing more than you should about somebody, more than they were willing to show in the surface made it easy for him to get overly attached to a complete stranger.

The consuming feeling of walking in somebody else's shoes, seeing a horrifying incident happen and not being able to stop it. Knowing the coping mechanism for it was all wrong from the perspective of somebody on the outside looking in. It was useful, but at times, torturous. Especially with his savior complex.

There was a terrible dread weighing Seungcheol's chest, but for the most part he ignored it. He even ignored it when his dreams conjured up images of Yoon Jeonghan – said dream confirming the two still unbroken mental connections.

*

Seungcheol never thought that this would be a location that somebody would willingly frequent. There were literal rats, milling about drainage systems, traversing their way around like it was their business. Nobody even startled at the sight, only lightly grimacing as the furry little creatures walk in between them.

"How come you two have lived in this city for twenty something years and never once gone to the heart of the slums before," Minghao commented, amusement evident in his voice.

"We have gone to the slums before." _Mainly Jeonghan's apartment,_ Seungcheol's mind supplied "We just...never stayed long."

"Hmm."

Minghao was striding along like he belonged in between the unkempt, haphazardly thrown on cheap cocktail dresses and off white t-shirt, adorning his own simple leather jacket on top of jeans and a simplistic shirt. He walked like he knew where he's headed, never faltering in hitting the silent beat with his stride. Seungcheol also noticed the way Minghao was broadening his shoulders more, his stance widening – in fact everybody were walking in similar fashion. It's like even at a place where everybody should let loose, unwind via alcohol and no doubt several different illegal substances, everybody was still cautious, distrustful gazes scanning warily at the people they had come with.

Seungcheol thought moving away from the elites did a number on his culture shock, but the slums were a different beast entirely.

Inside the sweltering hot club wasn't any better, party goers were inebriated in some instance or another. Still, he didn't miss how each of their eyes scrutinizing, flitted to one another when someone was getting a bit too close. They were mindful with their limited surroundings and it made Seungcheol less skittish in showing of his own cautious demeanor. 

It unfortunately didn't assist him in avoiding feeling like a fish out of water, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up on its end, and there was this deeply rooted paranoia that everybody there were watching him and somehow had seen through his facade. 

The first thing he and Junhui did was sat at an enclosed corner near the bar. The booth, cracked-piss-smelling leather and all, were almost secluded to the rest of the party. Certainly someone didn't predict the layout of their building before pushing their last booth too far into a corner, but it worked swimmingly enough for the two detectives.

They weren't wearing earpieces, it was too risky when the meeting would be up close, so for the night Seungcheol would have to do majority of the work. The plan was simple; Seungcheol would keep a line out on Minghao, instructing the other on what to do whilst simultaneously listening in on the target's mental cognition. Minghao would do his best as the8 to wheedle bits of information out of their target, Seungcheol would then voice what he collected aloud and let Junhui write and record everything they needed.

Seungcheol saw Minghao sliding towards the booth on the opposite corner of the room. It was hidden from their line of sight, where it was beyond the bar in the middle of the room, but Seungcheol could saw the tip of someone's head facing towards where Minghao would be, and Seungcheol knew it was Axis.

"They're talking." Seungcheol quickly found the line to the target's mind and waited patiently there.

Junhui had his recorder already rolling and pointed towards Seungcheol, but in case the thumping music in the club was too loud, Junhui had his pen and paper ready. The other was also keeping an eye out for the target and Minghao simultaneously, giving off calming and reassuring energy respectively so everything could work optimally. He was careful not to overdo it, not wanting their target to sense anything was amiss.

Seungcheol saw the eyes, intimidating and calculating even after Junhui's effort to mellow them down. Axis was sipping idly at the amber liquid in his glass, hand swinging about elegantly in between swigs. He could hear their conversation crystal-clearly, the noises inside the club taking a back seat, ebbing away from his ears until it sounded like there were a partition in-between them and their target.

"So what brings you here? I hope for your sake it's an emergency." There was a sinister undertone whenever the guy spoke that made Seungcheol have goose bumps all over. So far, their target's initial mental cognition was aligning with whatever he was saying.

"Look, I don't wanna take up your time but...I need some work."

Minghao was doing a terrific job, Seungcheol thought, the informant's voice trembling slightly, purposefully, which drove the desperation in his tone. He just hoped his target bought that.

Right after, Junhui felt suspicion not belonging to himself creeping slowly, incased with a layer of annoyance. Junhui bit his lips, afraid they had screwed up before even beginning.

"What is it?" Seungcheol queried, noticing the shift in expression.

"The guy's suspicious."

Seungcheol tuned back immediately to find Axis mind had gone lax, probably because of Junhui.

"You call me up, because you need money." With every word, Axis tapped his ringed index finger on his glass, it intimidated Minghao, but that wasn't particularly a negative thing.

"Y-yes, please, I'm late on my rent and I don't know anyone to stay with." Minghao's voice trembled at the right places it seemed, because Axis expression softens to ones of contemplation.

 _Question him about the pills, quickly._ Seungcheol instructed, seeing the opportunity.

"Those...pills that I delivered. Maybe I could do those kinds of jobs again?"

Flitting thought of suspicion returned, immediately Seungcheol did his best to warned Minghao.

"I mean – that was quick and simple right? I won't have to intrude on other's business." 

Seungcheol saw then, an image of a location, a swanky looking building.

_keep going._

"A-and like all I have to do is drop 'em off so not a lot of things could go wrong. I did a great job doing that before, right?"

The crimson-golden sign above the building sparkling intermittently. Somewhere in the dark, in an intersection, with a lot of construction surrounding the building. Furthermore, the building was unfamiliar to Seungcheol. In conclusion; it must be new. He relayed to Junhui everything; the other detective began writing immediately.

It was always difficult to discern writings from images flitting through his mind. It was almost like trying to read a book inside incoherent dreams. Luckily, he caught enough information.

"Yellow... _Snapdragon?_ – just write it down."

He heard the scribbles of Junhui's pen traveling further away whenever he refocused on their target.

"You did descent."

Flashing lights, stage, podium. Invitations.

Pills.

"There's going to be a party and the pills are gonna be there."

When he tried to reconnect to Axis mind, instead his thoughts caught onto another frequency. It was sharp and strong, his ability taking note of how familiar whoever's cognition it belonged to.

And then he saw something, someone was facing a cracked mirror. Their reflection bouncing back all distorted. They were in a sparkly sequenced dress, just the tips of their silver hair visible reaching just before their chest. There was a pair of hands that settled suddenly on whoever it was's torso that garnered the attention of the person in the dress. And then whoever it was finally started looking up, slowly, taking their time in raking their features.

A small seductive smirk on a familiar face became visible to Seungcheol who choked instinctively. _Jeonghan._

He watched the shapeshifter's face gripped in a split second shock before he heard commandingly. Furious.

_Get out of my head Choi Seungcheol._

Then Seungcheol was sprinting before he could even register that his body was moving.

*  


It wasn't hugely surprising that less than a month of Chan's return; Jeonghan's little family had started running out of supplies. Sustenance and water, mainly. They had stopped showering daily a week in, and they smell worse than usual. That's why Jeonghan had taken it upon himself to pickpocket a couple of people in the club. He hadn't requested Soonyoung's company this time; instead Soonyoung was given the responsibility of making certain that their youngest stayed obediently inside the apartment, where he's safe.

They didn't need much anyways; just a week's worth supplies, and then maybe Jeonghan would pick up odd jobs again. It was getting increasingly difficult; he didn't know why whenever it came to unstable politics, the slumrats always descended into temporary (bigger) chaos. He hadn't had an honest job in forever, but maybe once the elections are over then jobs would steadily trickle back in. Right now the shapeshifter just had to content himself with this, stealing.

"Sorry," Jeonghan knocked purposefully hard to the man's broad shoulder, diverting attention away from the hands sneaking to behind to the unsuspecting victim's pocket. Once he's gotten far enough away, disappearing into the crowd, he shifted his face, his hair, his height, his 'dress'.

He hated doing this when he was technically naked, it made the brush of their bodies more noticeable and he always felt worse for wear by the end.

Honestly, he felt terrible every time he inflicted this. It wasn't anything like stealing from the wealthy, where you're able to receive satisfaction of knowing they somewhat deserved it. But this, he didn't know how many lives he had severely impacted, how many people had unintentionally worsen at his hand, just by him stealing several loose change from them.

For once, he wanted a wealthy target who’s moronic enough not to create multiple backup bank accounts. Maybe if that were to happen, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, and Chan could run away forever with the money that they had. Although he didn't think it would be very pleasant, living a life constantly evading authorities. The irony wasn't lost to him, but that's the reason why they only ever drain one account, so the elites wouldn’t pursuit matters further since to them only a fraction was stolen, not worth any effort. Them stealing every few months also made their movement difficult to track by the agency. 

A girl suddenly grinded at him, keeping his hips steady whilst she whispered incoherent murmurs in his ears. He was currently sporting shorter hair, his hands inside his 'jacket' swayed to the mindless rhythm. It was honestly disorienting for his body to keep switching between genders, on top of which now he had to manifest clothing. He felt about ready to surrender, but of course he remembered everything that needed to be paid to get the water up and running again. They also required food to fill the minibar that they stole forever ago from a motel. They also needed electricity for said minibar. Their apartment had been shut off for a couple days now, Soonyoung had resulted in stealing power from neighbors.

He gripped the girl tighter, feeling her bag she had hidden behind her opening under his fingers.

"You're hot," he whispered to the girl, watching her eyes grew brighter as she drew him in for a kiss. He could identify the feel of paper bills in his hand, and with quick movement he slipped all of them out and hidden them in the sleeve of his 'jacket'. He pulled away from the kiss. "But you're not my type," he whispered callously after, walking away.

He got further into the club, and was now able to see the edge of the crowd where the booths laid. He could use a couple breathers.

Shifting discretely into a female body he sat on an opened booth, rubbing tension from his sore feet, frowning. He had brought a wallet, and he slipped the stray bills he managed to steal inside. Closing his eyes, he leant back to the cracked leather furniture, seeing lights barely shining through his closed lids until a sudden shadow darkened it.

Opening his eyes revealed a man, not much older than him, grinning libidinously at him. His intention was predictable; the man's was gazing intently at the wallet Jeonghan had inserted money into a couple of seconds ago, causing the guy to probably come to the wrong conclusion about the shapeshifter. Jeonghan only had a millisecond to decide before the words confirming his suspicion slipped out of the man's mouth.

"How much?"

Jeonghan eyed him, contemplating his decision. Unlike the random bodies floating around the shithole, the man looked semi-decent, sporting an orderly looking suit jacket over a white t-shirt. His blonde hair was sticking up wildly in several places, but it looked purposeful and stylish. There was effort in this man's appearance. Jeonghan ultimately came to the conclusion that the man probably had money even if it's not one percent worthy.

He wasn't too horrendous looking either, hell, if Jeonghan wasn't a pickpocket-shapeshifter and this wasn't a club that slumrats frequented, he'd probably hook up with the guy free of charge.

"Three hundred, five if you want...more."

The shit-eating grin the guy sported grew impossibly wider. Grabbing excitedly at Jeonghan's hand, he guided the shapeshifter towards the bathroom.

"Five it is."

Jeonghan didn't make it a habit to sell himself to the first descent looking body he saw within the club, but desperate times...

And besides, he was admittedly pent up. Grieving a lost loved one for a year does that to a person.

The whole situation was incredibly filthy, Jeonghan noted. Their teeth were clashing, and heat bloomed wherever the man touched – Jeonghan wasn't sure if it was more positively or negatively inclined. The hands that snaked around his torso, the lips that moved down his neck, their shared breaths in the disgusting bathroom; it was all moving to rapidly, the shapeshfiter needed to find his bearing before continuing, he didn't want to be tricked out of payment. So he pushed back, turned towards the mirror and made it clear for the man behind him to let off.

He breathed downwards towards the sink where he found purchase, gripping impossibly tight. He was already panting and if he had a dick right then, he's almost positive he would be hard.

"Payment first," He managed to strangle out of his enclosed throat.

The man nodded, agreeing, stepped slowly forward and held up the 500 for Jeonghan to see, before slowly slipping them inside the wallet the shapeshifter had rested on the sink.

"Now, where were we." Hands snaked, returning onto the dip of his hips, gliding unhurriedly up his glimmering 'dress'. Jeonghan's body prickled in anticipation, he hoped the man was also in a similarly desperate state, enough that the unzipping of his dress was render unnecessary. Jeonghan couldn't begin to think of a way to explain why his dress seemed to be attached to his body if the man had attempted to get him out of it.

He became increasingly worried about it the further up the hands were traveling, but then something else, something familiar, but no less troublesome suddenly bombarded his thoughts.

He gasped, stupefied, before realizing ... _Get out of my head Choi Seungcheol._

He was catapulted into reality and away from the detective's mental purchase when the guy diverted the direction of his hands, placing it comfortably underneath the hem of his skirt. This time the more the hand glided upwards, the more skin was presented. The kisses up his neck also served as a really captivating distraction.

Just when he felt the man's hand settled on the curve of his ass, pleasured noises bubbling his throat, the bathroom door slammed open, startling the two apart, revealing a panting red-faced Seungcheol.

"I'm a cop!" Seungcheol stutteringly declared, nose flaring, chest puffing, stalking forward with as much intensity as a lion stalking its prey. "Get out."

With desperate movements the man had taken back the money he had slipped into Jeonghan's wallet before sprinting outside towards the crowd. Everything happened irritatingly quickly that Jeonghan couldn't register what was happening before Seungcheol's voice captured through his overworked mind.

"What were you thinking?"

And Jeonghan felt... _furious_

"What am I thinking?" He gritted, a hurricane just barely contained beyond his lips. He whirled around, and just as quickly Seungcheol's chest puffed, it deflated at the anger he saw coming from Jeonghan. It was Jeonghan's turn to stalk forward now, his accusatory fingers already pointing at the detective. "What am _I_ thinking?!" I was thinking that maybe I'd have an easier night accepting the guy's offer so I can come home to my _family,_ quicker." He said nudging at Seungcheol's chest. "I was thinking that I can fuck a descent looking guy for once after a year of being pent up!" He pointed again. "I was thinking that for _once,_ things will go my way."

He ended the anger fueled rant by panting harshly; suddenly realizing Seungcheol's face was closer. From where he was positioned he rememorized details of the detectives face that he'd been exposed briefly before, the specks of gold floating in the other's iris, his worriedness and remorse filling his features, and those...lips.

The gap between them disappeared, all too suddenly there were trembling hands scrambling all over his body and a soft but desperate lips covering his own. Before long their tongues joined the concoction and they were making out inside a disgusting bathroom. They didn't care, brain hazily induced by adrenaline. All they could possibly comprehend was how amazing the feel of the other's body so close was.

"Jeonghan," He heard Seungcheol whispered before their lips reunited again.

Neither knew how long they spent just indulging their lust in the middle of an unexpected situation before suddenly the door opened and somebody walked in, ignoring the couple steadfastly, instead going inside a stall. It was enough for Jeonghan to snap himself from his stupor. With as much conviction as his reluctant body could muster, he pushed the detective away, frustrated.

"Fuck!" He shouted at nothing in particular, their stuttering breath echoing around them made Jeonghan irritated for some reason.

Licking his lips, Seungcheol decidedly forced himself to meet Jeonghan's incessant gaze, boring unabatedly into his skull, an incredible frustration painting his face. Jeonghan wanted to slap Seungcheol, but he also wanted to return to their kissing.

He saw the moment of recognition in Seungcheol's eyes, and the blush creeping up the detective's neck. It reminded Jeonghan of the other's ability to read him telepathically, then blushed himself before shaking himself out of it.

As steady as his overused voice could, Jeonghan breathed, "Get out of my head, Choi Seungcheol."

Before leaving the detective alone with his thoughts in the disgusting bathroom.

Jeonghan wanted to sleep, and maybe never wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man...exam week is done so its a chapter a week (for the most part) from now on. I'm also (probably) starting a new 'the magicians' au chaptered fic if anyone cares, but idk, gotta get off my ass <3


	9. Saturnz About to Make Love and I'm Just a Heartbreaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the designated best friend talks (i.e. threatens) to best friend's new boyfriend

Seungcheol couldn't sleep; thoughts of Jeonghan appalled and irritated kept invading his mind. It's not that Seungcheol thought it would've been easy balancing his work and his attraction, but he never really predicted himself blowing up unwarranted. Seungcheol was buried in complications.

And just like with everything, Seungcheol threw himself wholeheartedly into work, distracting himself.

He still had paperwork, unfortunately his responsibilities didn't disappear the minute he received the case. Somehow though, he thought it would've been worth it.

_Jeonghan._

"Why are you here at ass o'clock at night?" 

Seungcheol shrieked (rather unmanly) before registering whose voice had permeated through the silence.

"Busy?"

"Jihoon, you're an ass."

Jihoon had the gall to laugh before perching himself confidently on Seungcheol's desk, slamming something quite loudly onto it. "Eat," he instructed, revealing the bread he'd bought from the vending machine.

"Seriously?"

"C'mon, accompany me eating dinner." Jihoon grabbed Seungcheol's wrist before deciding midway he didn't like touching, making a face before letting go.

Seungcheol chuckled, he was glad for the passive-aggressive attentiveness. "You're an oddball Jihoon."

They ended unsurpsingly at Jihoon's laboratory. Everything either smelt of disinfectant or rotting flesh. Seungcheol didn't know how Jihoon developed an appetite in this situation.

Still, Seungcheol ate the bread offered, feeling his stomach grumbled. He managed to ignore the mutated plants invading his side, before relapsing into silence.

Jihoon didn't like that.

"Talk."

"What?"

"Y'know – do that thing that people do..."

It was amusing to witness Jihoon attempting to be human. "You mean open up?"

"Whatever – I just thought your pouting looked ridiculous."

Seungcheol sighed – Jihoon, somebody who was absolutely brilliant but ignorant when it came to human interactions, managed to sense Seungcheol's uneasiness. It made him wondered what kind of expression he was sporting to garner such attention.

"Is it the shapeshifter?"

"How –"

"Junhui, he mentioned something about you abruptly leaving the nightclub after he saw...Jeonghan? Was it?"

Seungcheol nodded, everything since then, his thoughts, the air that he inhaled had been revolving around the shapeshifter. He'd fucked up.

"Tell me about it."

Maybe it was because it's Jihoon, somebody's who's cold and unforgiving, somebody who could hold Seungcheol accountable. But whatever it was, Seungcheol ended up divulging everything. Heart helplessly splayed on the atmosphere around them.

"Is he the person you kept trying to offer Minghao's deal to?"

"Junhui?"

"Junhui." Jihoon curtly nodded. Maybe Seungcheol should reiterate the importance of personal matters to Junhui.

"I fucked up; I overstep my boundaries and now –"

"You like him."

Seungcheol relented, rolling his head to the side of the swivel chair he was sitting upon. For somebody without knowledge of social cues, Jihoon sure kept predicting Seungcheol's thought.

"Maybe you should start by apologizing? Seungcheol, for as long as I've known you, you've always been the type to insert yourself into every problem you see. Something commendable, yes, but ultimately destructive. You should do something to help your guilt once in a while."

Seungcheol wandered how he became so predictable. Yoon Jeonghan might've messed with him more than he thought. It wasn't that the jealously had overtaken him – even if it's partly the reason – but he hated seeing Jeonghan resorting to that.

He wanted to take care of the shapeshifter.

Jihoon's words were simple yet it resonated deeply within Seungcheol.

Regardless, he had enough vulnerability for today.

After the lull in conversation, Seungcheol began inspecting the laboratory he was in. It was in shambles, predictably, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Found anything with the pills yet?"

"Well you haven't brought me back some now have you?" Jihoon retorted, watching the detective shrunk back. "There is something though."

Seungcheol's brows raised in interest.

"A couple detectives managed to seize a box that's suspected to have held overdrive, but whatever insides already long gone." Jihoon grabbed the box in question, inspecting it sides like he hadn't already. "There was a tracker, our surveillance team managed to pinpoint its previous location – somewhere in the dessert, I think – before losing signal."

That's an interesting development.

"It'll still be easier if I _have_ the pills." Jihoon quipped 

It's not like they hadn't received any development, everything were just difficult to disentangle. From Minghao's gathering of information inside the nightclub, they'd come to the conclusion they needed to attend said party. Unfortunately, even if Minghao managed to acquire the invitation, they needed somebody to pose as the person who originally owned said invitation. 

Apparently, whatever organization was behind everything had a tendency to track their properties.

Either they recruited the owner of the invitation or they needed somebody who could –

"Fuck."

"What."

"In order for the agency to acquire the pills, we need somebody to infiltrate the party."

"And?"

"Well as you said, even the box the pills were carried in was track so the invitation would be to–" Seungcheol halted, giving up on explaining further. He was sure Jihoon was picking up everything he'd put down. "I need Jeonghan."

There was a pregnant paused in the conversation, Jihoon midway shoveling rice into his mouth.

Then Seungcheol looked up, and Jihoon broke – cackling maddeningly, slapping his thighs, and almost falling backwards on his seat.

_fuck._

"Oh...Choi Seungcheol, good luck with that." Jihoon wiped the tears of amusement away from his face, finally coming down from his elation of Seungcheol's misery.

Seungcheol wondered what he'd done in previous lives to warrant such a complicated current situation. Maybe it was the universe attempting to string Seungcheol along – wanting him to reconcile with Jeonghan. Regardless, Seungcheol left Jihoon's laboratory with more complication than before entering.

*

Chan woke up to an empty room; the space on the mattress Jeonghan previously occupied was cold, concluding the shapeshifter had left for a significantly long time. The sun was already high up in the sky – the clock stating it was well passed afternoon. And here he thought today they'd be able to converse about the problem.

Jeonghan tend to avoid things, Chan noticed. Wanting to keep everything inside a safe precious bubble away from the brutality of the world. It's very ironic considering what the shapeshifter had thought him throughout the years.

Chan grew up calloused, wary, and intelligent because of Jeonghan. The kidnapping unfortunately made Jeonghan distrust his own teachings.

Jeonghan had been particularly irritable since his nightclub visitation several days ago. Other than that he'd been quiet, and Chan, irritated as he was himself, leant over Jeonghan's side comfortingly. He could sense when his older brother was hurting.

They'd apparently fallen asleep like that and Jeonghan probably left for another round of avoidance.

At least Chan was alone, maybe he could sneak out, visit the agency. The information he'd been gaining wasn't enough, and Chan _needed_ to deliver some hurt and despair of his own.

He was stubborn like that.

Chan was preparing to escape when the bathroom door clicked open to a shit-eating grinning Soonyoung leaning against a wall. "Going somewhere?"

"So you're the babysitter for today, huh?"

Soonyoung bowed grandiloquently, before tackling Chan back onto the mattress – _literally._

"Oof – Jesus, get up you're heavy!"

Soonyoung chuckled but otherwise relented, rolling over allotting the younger freedom.

"Man...are we watching another movie?"

Soonyoung took a while to answer, making a point of touching his chin and humming. "Nope!" He excitedly answered, like he didn't have a whole day planned ahead beforehand.

Soonyoung stood up abruptly, leaving Chan teetering off sideways. "Then what?"

"Come on." Giving an outstretched hand he waited for the younger to take it, his whole body buzzing and thrumming with anticipation. He was happy to have finally found a temporary solution to subside the dreariness that's been surrounding his family. 

Chan rolled his eyes, taking the hand nevertheless, and waited. "So?"

"We're going out –" Chan's eyes widen. "And you can't tell Jeonghan." For obvious reasons – Jeonghan's almost motherly instincts could get terrifying at times.

"I –“

"Let's go." And before long Soonyoung was dragging Chan, halfway through the city.

They went on the automatic transport – Soonyoung cleverly hacking it so they could ride without a bus-card. As they settled into their seats, Chan observed the city whizzing pass outside in childlike wonder.

It's been one whole year since he'd seen the city up-close. The one with detective Seungcheol didn't count with how irritated he was that night. But now, another towering skyscraper had erected within the city, tall and foreboding. There were more people loitering the streets than he remembered; families lazily strolling, children laughing, busy bodies running. Everything was just a little more big and Chan felt his absence prominently in everything.

He wanted to finally capture everyone who'd taken him away, whatever the cost.

He wondered how his noble cause to avenge for his family become something he took personally.

"There's construction replacing the junkyard. There're buildings there now." Soonyoung suddenly interjected, Chan moving to look at his other slightly older brother.

Soonyoung rarely reveal anything to them – at least, nothing revolving himself. And not for the first time did Chan wonder if the hacker was actually selfless or just repressing his emotions.

"How come?"

"The mayor bought it for...something, I don't know. It's politics."

Chan hummed, nodding along, pretending to know whatever that meant. "A lot of things have changed since I've gone missing, huh?"

Soonyoung's grip on the wooden basket perched on his lap tightens before unclenching in a release of breath. "Not really – I mean, we're still here." _I'm still here,_ he wanted to say. Because he wanted to reiterate his willingness to sacrifice everything for this family.

he didn't say it.

"Yeah." Chan turned his head away from the dizzying sight of the bustling city, leaning closer instead towards Soonyoung, his head resting on the other's shoulder, feeling, inhaling the familiar warmth of home. "I guess so."

The two brothers arrived at the edge of the city, the area opposite the dessert where towering mountains resided. Soonyoung had cleverly thought of a plan for Chan to escape the suffocating four bedroom walled apartment without putting the boy in danger. He concluded in order to achieve that they needed to also escape the city, away from people with malicious intents. Away from people Chan could potentially throw himself onto for the sake of case development and vigilantisms.

Hiking it was. Not that it was the point of their excursion – the point was the picnic. There was some delicious food stored in the basket courtesy of Joshua, who had given him it before leaving to attend to personal matters.

Thank heavens for Hong Jisoo.

Now, after sneaking pass the security gate, they were faced with a wall of rocks, covered in a layer of thick forest.

The sun was already well passed the sky, beginning to set. They needed to climb up quickly.

Soonyoung sighed, blowing raspberry with his mouth - somehow, he didn't think this one through. All he saw were the pretty pictures taken by the people who'd managed to climb up the mountain. The view overlooking the city was so hypnotizing that Soonyoung just had to bring Chan up there. He was positive the incredibly beautiful sight would bring a smile to anyone's face.

He, however, didn't want to climb.

"Alright pyro-boy, flame up!"

Chan cut his gaze slowly towards the hacker, eyes widening in disbelief. "What?"

The journey upwards was definitely rocky, Chan finding Soonyoung heavier than ever, and he found his grips slipping a couple times. Chan hadn't had practice controlling his fire-power propulsion. Considering that, he did pretty amazing.

Their feet landed on the rocky planes safely, the railing rendered useless once you flew over them. 

"Wow." The sun was setting, closing a chapter of another day. The lights of the city illuminating one after another, like firecrackers stretching the sky. The stars reflecting the shine unnoticeable, but coming out of hiding. The view was breathtaking.

Soonyoung chuckled, slithering his hands across the younger's shoulder. "Pretty cool, huh? – Man, did those picture sucked in comparison."

"Everything's so...wonderful."

Sliding away, Soonyoung began setting up. Before long there was a perfectly crafted midnight picnic area. Soonyoung hoped Chan would enjoy it.

"I know it's different – Jeonghan hyung isn't here. And it feels like ever since you've return that we haven't been focusing on celebrating it –" not that it wasn't understandable considering the circumstances of Chan's disappearance –"but, I don't know, I figured we could just- oof." Chan didn't hug much, but when it does it was the warmest thing in the world.

Partly because he was pyrokinetic which meant his body temperature's hotter than others, but that's beside the point.

"Thanks, Soonyoung."

They arranged themselves effectively, the rocky planes of the mountain terrains were a little unforgiving on their backsides, but who cares when you got a view like this. The sun was setting lower, colorful explosions of crimson and deep persimmon invading the previously cerulean sky. The two brothers enjoyed the spectacle above by sharing comfortable silence between them.

Gradually, the darkness took over. Navy painting over reddish tones until there was glimmering stars occupying the night, and that's when they started dinner.

The contents inside the basket were simple, besides the blanket there were turkey sandwiches and bottles of water waiting for consumption. Chan gladly obliged.

"Jesus – you'd think hyung didn't feed you," Soonyoung commented, making a point of wiping mayonnaise from the corner of the younger's mouth.

"He hadn't, we're running low remember?"

And that halted Soonyoung in his own vigorous chewing – right, he forgot.

"He loves you y'know."

"Well I know that, it would be better if he'd love me a little less."

Sometimes Chan wanted freedom, something he knew as a slumrat it was already difficult to achieve to begin with.

"Do you actually want that?"

Chan's stomach had the gall to churn in guilt. "No."

Soonyoung was perceptible, maybe this was a given considering how intelligent he was at predicting certain events, but this was especially apparent when it came to his family. Leaning back, head tilting towards the sky, he allotted the chilly night air to wash over his neck traveling downwards his spine. Everything was a mess, inside his head and in physical form. Sometimes he wished it was effortless for him to speak up when he's hurting. 

"Why're you angry, really?" Was what he said instead. Everything was easier when it's not personal troubles.

Chan held his breath for several seconds before answering, and he did it with his sight upturned towards the glittering night sky. "I just want somebody to pay for what they did to me."

"And?"

"And I want to make Jeonghan hyung proud."

And there it was the actually reasoning behind all the petulant fits. Jeonghan was perfect, skillful, beautiful, and intelligent; the complete package. He was also kindhearted and selfless despite his callous exterior. To everybody else it might sound peculiar. Jeonghan was a crooked slumrat who stole to survive. Hardly a role model. 

And yet, he was perfect, to them anyways.

"He doesn't understand that I want to do this for myself. I know it's selfish and I justify it to myself that it's also for the greater good, I just –" Chan hesitated, the already cold turkey sandwich turning icy, unconsumed in his palms. "I just wanted to change something, not just...survive."

Soonyoung hummed, enclosing his arm around the younger to cover against the winter-like cold. He didn't particularly understand where Chan was coming from, sometimes the pyro-boy was obtusely ambitious for the world he was given. Unlike him, Soonyoung was more of a see-where-this-river-takes-me type of person. Sure he was intelligent and was gifted at computers, but as long as he's surrounded by everybody he loved, he could die never touching the computer again and still depart happily.

Maybe that's why staying silent was something he frequented. Taking the saying love is sacrifice to another level.

"Chan, what do you wanna be when you grow up?"

Chan wanted to correct that they _were_ grownups, but they weren't actually. Even the events they've endure couldn't deplete them of their physical youths.

Truthfully, Chan never contemplated his future ambitions before. He wanted to do _something_. That something was unclear, but it vaguely related to wanting to create a better future. Perhaps not only for him.

"I want to protect people." just like he was protected by his family. Maybe it was the chilly night air finally getting to him, or rather it was the sight of the city shining underneath the sparse moonlight. Everything looked perfect from far away – precious and so...vulnerable. Chan knew the contents of said city was merciless, but from further away it looked pretty, like something worth saving. "I wanna help people in trouble."

Soonyoung wouldn't point it out, but it sounded awfully like the detectives job description.

"What about you?"

Soonyoung chuckled, waving his hand uncaringly. "Oh, I don't know but don't worry about me."

Something off kilter about that statement invaded Chan's notice, but the younger stayed silent nevertheless.

"You should be nicer to hyung – and not just last night," Soonyoung continued, arriving to the point of their little adventure.

They'd noticed the stale air traveling around Jeonghan after his nightclub expedition. Chan, concerned, became a little bearable for the night, offering physical comfort and unspoken emotional support. He would undoubtedly return to his sour mood without any intervention.

True to prediction, Chan grunted petulantly, making Soonyoung chuckle.

"Jeonghan hyung comes from a caring place, Chan. I'm not telling you to stop fighting for what you believe in or give up – I know you're frustrated, that's the correct response, but maybe instead of inconsistently bursting your emotions everywhere, try talking to him, maybe?"

Chan sighed, splaying backward and regretting it almost immediately when his back met the uneven foundation. "I did, he agreed, but he still –"

"I know," Soonyoung chuckled. "God, I know. You're both stubborn as a mule you'd think that it runs in the family."

That bubbled a chuckle to pass Chan's lips. The younger moved his head onto the older's thigh, sighing in contentment when his back was elevated. "But you're not stubborn," Chan pointed and that brought a stutter to Soonyoung's heartbeat.

_Family._

"I can be, sometimes."

They let the silence stretched for fifteen minutes before Soonyoung piped again. "Promise me you'd be more understanding and patient."

Chan snuggled his head closer to the older's stomach, eyes shutting intermittently from the pull of unconsciousness. They should've probably brought more blankets, but they unfortunately didn't own more.

"Okay."

"Good." Soonyoung nodded, at least one problem was alleviated, but then – "Fuck, Jeonghan hyung's gonna kill us."

Chan eyes widen, "Shit," Chan echoed the sentiment.

Before they burst into laughter, falling backwards and wincing but otherwise giggling still. Soonyoung's mental premonition's been faulty before, maybe Jeonghan wouldn't caught them sneaking home at the break of dawn, but if he did at least they know it was worth it.

*

Life had a tendency to kick you while you're down, then in the middle of regaining composure; it pushes you for one final measure.

Today, Life decided Jeonghan's was its target.

"Fucking –" the squelching his foot made in contact with his shoes was unbearable. That was – _what?_ – The second puddle he'd stepped on?

The clouds overhead decided to split open earlier, forcing the shapeshifter to take shelter under an awning with a warped roof. At that moment, the roof decided to collapse in on itself and doused Jeonghan with a hefty dose of rainwater. Not seeing the point of remaining under the shelter considering he was absolutely soaked, he began walking again. That's when the rain stopped and Jeonghan was left looking a fool, soaking when he could've just waited. 

To add insult to injury, the hunt earlier that day had been difficult nobody with big money came to the areas Jeonghan was frequenting, leaving him with only a hundred bucks in his wallet. In addition to that failure, he had also come up empty handed after job-hunting. Something about the election, everybody's overly preoccupied somehow, enough to stop providing menial jobs, like the city was holding its breath.

But it was fine; everything was okay, because he got to return home to two lovely children-

_Not._

Chan's probably still...not _angry_ in particular, but definitely disappointed. Soonyoung was Switzerland, at least on the surface, but the boy was definitely leaning onto the younger's side just a little.

The constant pressure broke lose in a form of a stray tear that he barely managed to hold back. He'd love nothing more than to break down wailing in the middle of the streets, except that people would probably call the cops on the lunatic and it'll just land him into hotter waters.

His fist was gripping impossibly tight onto the wallet, teeth chattering away. At least he was closer now.

His cellphone buzzing in his back pocket alerted him to a text and Jeonghan fished it out offhandedly, eyes going wide at the name.

Sc: Can we talk?

 _No._..Yes. Jeonghan might've typed and retyped several times before ultimately pocketing the cellphone again.

Seungcheol had been texting him numerous apologies the second they'd left the nightclub. Guileless rambling that was ignorant at best. Seungcheol hadn't even realized what he did wrong before he began apologizing, and Jeonghan didn't know if he should accept that. 

It was genuine though, everything about Seungcheol screamed earnestness. That's one of the things Jeonghan liked about the detective, the way he'd sacrifice everything to do what's right.

It irritated Jeonghan sometimes.

Another text came through, reverberating his pocket and Jeonghan sighed, fishing the cellphone back out against his better judgment.

Js: Lunch?

Well, that was surprising. Joshua had been busy yesterday, some business matter needed attending. Jeonghan thought his bestfriend would still be busy today.

 _Sure._ He texted, receiving a reply right after.

Finally, after trudging his way through yet another hellish day, Jeonghan arrived home to his two brothers who were sound asleep. Apparently.

"I wasn't born yesterday."

He didn't get a respond, but he tapped away at the concrete below, hips cocked and waited. 

Soonyoung was first to fold, peeking an eye out of the blanket he was snuggled up in.

"Gotcha."

Chan breathed, before relenting, grumbling and nudging Soonyoung all the while. "What the hell, hyung." Managing a couple slaps to the hacker shoulder, it wasn't long before the two fell into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry – I just felt him staring."

"I'm still here you know." With the reminder the two immediately went rigid, back straightening impossibly.

On any other day, sleeping away at the apartment was normal, but the fact his two youngest tried to pass it off meant there was something fishy. "What did you two do?"

Neither spoke, forcibly smiling to the ground underneath the shapeshifter’s almighty glare.

"Speak."

"It was Soonyoung's idea!"

Soonyoung gasp, clutching at nonexistent pearls before slapping his whole hand to Chan's face, pushing him back on the mattress. "Traitor!" He breathed, but there was a hint of humor to his tone that made even Jeonghan relented.

They fell into harmless chuckles, Jeonghan slumping gracelessly in between the two who protested on account of the wetness. This was calming, Jeonghan thought, momentarily forgetting all the animosity that's been going on for the past several days. 

Chan noticed first, the ever present worried tension in between his hyung's brow. "Bad day?"

Jeonghan barked out a laugh, too loud for the tiny space. "You could say that again."

It wasn't fair to blame it all on one person, but whatever Jeonghan did to trace back the root of his problems, it always reveals Seungcheol at the center. The detective was just a polarizing present on the shapeshifter's life; barging in like a hurricane, offering help and companionship. At the same time, Jeonghan's never met anybody so dedicated onto something that it left him flabbergasted and appalled. He didn't know how to take it.

Why was Seungcheol so interested when he was clearly trouble?

"Is it detective Seungcheol?"

Jeonghan didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until it opened too suddenly, taking in too many artificial lights. 

"You mumbled him in your sleep sometimes."

Judging by the surprise look on Soonyoung's face, even he didn't know. Which wasn't uncharacteristic considering the hacker slept like a log.

"Sorta...it's that and everything."

Chan hummed, not knowing how to feel about the situation. The youngest was still in the position where Seungcheol was just another authority figure who was apparently helping him seek justice. He didn't know how much he'd missed but Seungcheol was clearly more than that for Jeonghan. So momentarily, he redacted his compulsion to push Jeonghan further, instead snuggling to the older's side, reeling when he felt a vibration.

"Is that him?"

"It's either him or Joshua." But Jeonghan had finalized his agreement with his bestfriend leaving only one person.

"I don't know what happened with you two, but if you like him then maybe you should consider talking to him?"

Jeonghan felt Soonyoung nodding in agreement to his shoulder and that coaxed a guttural sigh from within him.

"It's a lot more complicated than that."

Another buzz.

Jeonghan fished his cellphone out for the umpteenth time that day, seeing the ID belonging not to Seungcheol.

Js: Close.

Pocketing the phone he herded the two to stand up, reaching to the wallet and opening to reveal the hundred bucks he stole previously. "This was all I got today." He outstretched the money towards the older of the two, who took it without question. "Since you guys went out anyways, how about you buy us some groceries; pay some bills if there's any left?"

"Are you sure?" Jeonghan could hear the hesitant and concern behind the question. So he did what always do to be strong.

Stepping forward he cupped his two younger's cheek, and said, "I'm fine," as earnestly as he could muster.

Which, after only a brief conversation, felt less than a lie than when he told himself that earlier that day.

"Okay." 

The two went trudging out and Jeonghan was left to change his clothes. 

The distinctive sign of Joshua's arrival came not by seeing or hearing. Instead the wafting smells of something delicious alerted the shapeshifter to his bestfriend's arrival. Peeking through the bathroom door he waved his hand, scrunching his face and repeated the usual 'you shouldn't haves' before relenting not a millisecond later.

"Seriously."

"You could make it up to me by telling me what's up."

Jeonghan tried it, conveying the most compelling I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about face. But just like with the food, he surrendered easily.

"It's everything..."

Joshua gestured wildly with his chopstick, mouth half full. "And...?"

Jeonghan exhaled loudly towards the ceiling before saying in a small voice, "Detective Seungcheol."

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Sorta." Once Jeonghan fell into a stream of exposition about what happened during Joshua's busy schedule, the shapeshifter found himself unable to stop bemoaning his misfortune with Choi Seungcheol. Unbeknownst to him, his bestfriend's knowing grin had been steadily growing wider and wider.

"You like him."

And Jeonghan had the gall to attempt the  
I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about face's sequel. 

Joshua leaned forward, pinching the shapeshifter on his side. "Ow! Fine, yes, sue me!" The series of pinches continue until Joshua felt his bestfriend was thoroughly chastised. Leaning back, he gave Jeonghan a complete once over and noticed the slight blush to his cheeks, the systematic way his fingers intertwined with one another, and his forever shifting gaze.

 _Oh,_ he got it bad.

"Don't look at me like that, just because you can sense clearer, doesn't mean you can sense through my feelings," Jeonghan grumbled petulantly, compelling Joshua to lean once more to get another good pinch in.

"Nope, that just comes with being your bestfriend – and i told you it's called synesthete."

Jeonghan might've rolled his eyes a bit too dramatically, continuing his eating in lieu of facing his problems.

"So besides the nightclub thing, what is it that you're so afraid of?" Joshua knew his bestfriend was rarely ever taken care of by anyone outside of the inner circle, not that he had any in the first place. Jeonghan had a tendency of stretching himself too thin and ignoring any semblance of protection. Now some hunky detective actually cared enough for Jeonghan's wellbeing, and even if Joshua didn't knew much about Choi Seungcheol (a matter he would eventually correct on his own), he knew that the detective could be good for the shapeshifter.

"He keeps giving me offers to work with him and he said he needed my help with something." Jeonghan couldn't resist reading the messages that came way after the nightclub incident. Something about Seungcheol pleading scared Jeonghan a little. He was willing to help as long as it was him on the line and not Chan or Soonyoung. The snowball effect that might come from letting Seungcheol in though, was something Jeonghan was fearful of.

"You don't want to fall in too deep and so you push him away." Shifting gazes jutted out bottom lips, and an increase to the finger twirling. "I'm right."

"I just – I don't even – uggh...I don't know, I don't know." Jeonghan shook his head, coming to stand up and throwing away the leftover's container. He needed to occupy himself from his own jumbled, unpredictable thought. Not even he could discern what he was feeling; all he knew was his habitual defense mechanism.

"You lost Chan last year; you don't want to get closer to Seungcheol because you don't want to lose him to. And you're afraid that if you help a little, then you'll accept the job, then you'll get that much closer to Seungcheol. Am I hitting anything here? Can I get a bingo?"

_Curse Hong Jisoo._

"You missed one."

"Is it that you're afraid if you accept the job it could lead to you losing Soonyoung and Chan as well." Both of them drowning in a case, living dangerously.

Jeonghan was predictable.

"Fuck you."

"I love you too."

Patting the concrete next to him, he watched in amusement as the shapeshifter reluctantly slot himself into place. Joshua's hand came caressing Jeonghan's side in an almost automatic manner. He couldn't begin to recount how many time they have to talk the other down from a stupid self-destructive decision. Majority of the time, Jeonghan was on the rescue’s end. Joshua realized that it's because his bestfriend leads a less than ideal life, but sometimes Jeonghan's own stubbornness could be his own downfall.

"Maybe...talk to him first?"

"Chan said that," Jeonghan mumbled into Joshua's shoulder, which prickled from the warmth.

"Well you know something's wrong when _thee_ Lee Chan's making more sense than you."

Jeonghan grumbled, making Joshua pat his friend in further amusement.

They fell into an easy silence after, knowing the conversation was practically over. Joshua was kindhearted – at least, that's what he liked to think. He often practices selflessness and the art of surrendering in order to uphold the peace. But he could be as equally stubborn – enough to rival Jeonghan's on steadfastness – if he deemed it necessary. And maybe they haven't known one another for the longest time, but Joshua could still predict Jeonghan's future decisions.

"You're gonna say yes." Jeonghan gave a curt shake of the head, and a 'tsk' noise, but Joshua persisted. "You're gonna say yes because you always follow your heart Jeonghannie. You're gonna say yes because no matter how much you try to hide it, you're kindhearted and if the opportunity presents itself, you'll help." Joshua's speech left no room for arguments, but Jeonghan wasn't going to relent that easily.

"We'll see."

*

With one crisis averted, Joshua found himself walking towards the agency in search of another trouble. From the miniscule knowledge he possessed pertaining Choi Seungcheol, he seemed like a selfless enough guy. Foolish and earnest, sometimes overtly so. Surface level assessment checked out Joshua's approval box, but until he had the pleasure of meeting this elusive telepath, he wasn't going to sign-seal-deliver that agreement yet.

"Excuse me; I'm looking for Detective Choi Seungcheol." Joshua observed as the desk clerk gave him a once over, eyes catching on the high branded buttons on his lapels. There was no nod of approval, but Joshua could tell a bigoted classist when he sees one.

He was escorted without any complications and was left to sit at the detective’s desk, apparently waiting for his lunch break to end.

When Seungcheol finally returned it was less than half an hour of waiting. The first thing the detective noticed was the strikingly familiar person sitting at his desk, one leg dangled atop of the other, back perfectly straight, and head looking straight ahead – not downturned making the person looked demure, nor upturned in a haughtily manner. Gentlemanly, was what Seungcheol would describe the man, even from behind it was incredibly apparent.

Finally able to see the person's face he realized the familiarity.

"Mr. Hong, what can I do for you?"

Joshua stood up, fixing the lapels of his casual suite and sending Seungcheol the politest smile in existent. It was a little tight. Somehow that made Seungcheol nervous.

"Are you busy? – I'm here for personal matters I'm afraid."

Even if Seungcheol was, he still sat down, unable to resist the alluring but constricting tension.

He had a feeling on the topic of conversation. More specifically, who.

"I-Is this about Jeonghan," chuckling nervously Seungcheol tried his best not to falter under the scrutinizing gaze of who Seungcheol had come to know from the phone calls, as Jeonghan's bestfriend.

He resisted the urge to peak, not wanting to cross boundaries and making it a habit he falls back on whenever he was nervous or threatened.

On other notes, the agency really should train their operatives on their abilities better.

"Hmm, Perceptive...and nervous, why is that?"

The impassiveness of the tone sent shivers through Seungcheol's thick layer of work jacket. He had a feeling that Joshua was the type to only warm up to whoever deserving of such kindness. But he also knows for certain that he _is_ kind.

"I –"

"Forget it, we'll come to that." Joshua airily dismissed, his hands gesturing elegantly like picking his words from thin air. "I'm here, as one would say, as a bestfriend. You have an interest with Jeonghan so think of me as the sort of sibling that's giving the new boyfriend a stern talk down to, hmm?"

"I-I – okay?"

"From what I've gathered I really can't sway either of you in one direction or another – you're way into deep now." Joshua said the last part under his breath, but Seungcheol caught a little amusement in his tone. A joke the detective was excluded from. "I want to know more about you detective. You seemed like a descent enough guy – the kind Jeonghan particularly needs no less. But who are you, really?"

Seungcheol could hear the underlying question, partly because he caught passing mental thought. _Give me a reason why I should let you be with him._

"I really don't know where to start."

Cutting his gaze to Seungcheol's eyes, his ears almost perked up, all of Joshua's senses tingling. Thoroughly feeling like a bug under a microscope, Joshua finally let off, humming in thought. The gentlemanly guy folded his hand over his lips, swiveling a little in his chair, before snapping softly – almost elegantly – to himself.

"So, how's the case been going, detective?"

"I – uh, you could call me Seungcheol. And the case...the case is doing well."

Joshua nodded, placating. "Steady progress."

"As steady as it could get–" at the thought of progress, Seungcheol remembered the epiphany he had inside Jihoon's lab, and suddenly the temperature of the room got that much hotter. "Actually, about that. I sorta need Jeonghan's help."

"Ah, yes, he said something about that. From what I can gather he was still on the fence about it." Seungcheol nodded, that was expected. "He's not quite sure what to make of you yet, and in result he's not sure if he could trust you."

Seungcheol leaned further into his chair, almost closing in on himself. Each movement, he was aware, was under intense scrutiny.

It made Seungcheol realize that he didn't know Joshua's abilities.

"So what do you do for a living – Jeonghan's mentioned something about an outreach program. I mean, you seem so young." Whatever possessed Seungcheol was feeling embolden apparently, but it was too late to back away now.

Surprisingly, Joshua's feature softens at the question, and almost fond look mixed with ambition took over his facial expressions. "Yes, an outreach program of some sort. I'm planning on making it self sustaining."

"So you like to help people?"

"Just like you." And suddenly the conversation had took a detour right back to Seungcheol. Great.

"Who doesn't?"

"But you take special interest in helping people yourself, don't you?"

Seungcheol squirmed in his seat, detective eyes catching another prickly to Joshua's ears.

_What's he listening to._

"Well, that's the whole reason why I chose this job. I really want to help people."

Joshua's face scrunched and it took a moment before he spoke, and when he did he sounded surprised, pleasantly so. "You really meant that." 

It wasn't a question, so Seungcheol didn't answer.

The quietness felt deafening, the look of contemplation on what felt like the brother in law's face didn't make Seungcheol feel any better. But that Joshua straightened.

"You know Seungcheol, Jeonghan and you are very similar and very different in so many ways. You're earnest that's for sure, so I would imagine you won’t start lying to me so – Seungcheol, do you _like_ Jeonghan?"

 _Like,_ the word definitely held more merit then its dictionary definition counterpart. So of course without hesitation Seungcheol said, "Yes."

"Your heartbeat was steady," Joshua muttered offhandedly to himself, but it was enough for Seungcheol to hear and the detective finally figured out the other's ability.

"You've been reading my movements," Seungcheol realized, to which the other nodded to nonchalantly as an answer. Seungcheol didn't graduate the academy from nothing.

"So far you've been as forthcoming as one could get. I would imagine that's partly the reason why Jeonghan is so afraid of how he feels about you."

 _So he does feel something for me._ The realization made Seungcheol's heart stuttered, and Joshua smirked.

"You know Seungcheol, I've red people my whole life, their movements become easier to unpack overtime. Because of that I could easily discern the type of person they are, and what action they most likely will take." Leaning back, Joshua seemed to loom instead of shrunk and Seungcheol waited in anticipation. "People like you – earnest, truthful, somewhat...naive, have a tendency to try and fix every problem they see." Joshua was aware that Jeonghan fell into that category, helping people was something the shapeshifter was somewhat ashamed of. And therein lies the difference. "You wear your heart on your sleeve, which is admirable, but it makes you predictable." There was a point to this, Seungcheol was sure of it, the air crackling in tension really made him felt ten degrees hotter. "Jeonghan didn't tell me details about the nightclub incident, just and overview of what happened, but even from that I knew. You came to safe him because not only your jealousy, but because there was – from your perspective – a problem, that needed tending. Am I correct?"

Well that didn't seemed to negative, so why did Seungcheol felt like have failed the last test? "I-It looked like he was about to...I-I mean for money and –"

Joshua hummed loud enough to cut Seungcheol, but said nothing further, his eyes glistening and Seungcheol was almost tempted to peek inside the words constructed inside the other's mind. He didn't have to wait long fortunately.

"Not everything needs fixing – not everyone needs to be fixed. Not every flaw is a flaw."

Well, that was indistinct, Seungcheol thought, before the other's gaze shifted behind him and Seungcheol half-thought a grim reaper had come to take his soul, per-request of Joshua.

"Hello–" Joshua stood hands outstretched and ready. "Hong Jisoo – Joshua." 

"Lee Jihoon."

Not grim reaper, but, close enough.

"Jihoon, what are you doing here?"

The lab technician rolled his eyes, which seemed to be the default whenever he met one of the two detectives. Seungcheol chuckled under his breath before a lab report was shoved into his chest.

"You asked for this, for the undercover mission." _Idiot._

Sometimes Seungcheol didn't like that he could read people's thoughts. 

The report given was something Seungcheol asked for. After realizing what he needed to do, he and Junhui had begun brushing up further on their soon to be target. The only bases haven't been covered was the full-body biological information that could either be gained from the hospital, or the person had been arrested before so the agency had the information.

"Human."

"I could've told you that." Jihoon shook his head, the mellowness of several days back long forgotten. Seungcheol knew it was probably because Joshua was present.

At least Seungcheol knew their target weren't another dangerous mutant. Al thought with everything that's been happening, Seungcheol didn't know if the information made the target more or less of a threat.

"Honestly, the things I do for you."

Joshua chuckled at that. "Babysitting and friendship can be easily misconstrued can they?"

There was an elated surprise on Jihoon's face, and Seungcheol knew that look. _Oh boy,_ he thought, _they'd bonded._

"Sometimes." Jihoon nodded and Seungcheol already knew Joshua had gained Jihoon respect.

Joshua broke their conniving gaze first, gathering his overcoat he had thrown on the arm of the swivel chair. "Well, I best be going." He stood up without much decorum, having loosen his cold facade, and inclined his head towards the two. "It was nice to meet you," he said to Jihoon, before turning to the detective, gaze hardening with a hint of amusement and something else. "Seungcheol."

Joshua got halfway down the corridor before shouting; "Call him again," behind him. And Seungcheol knew what that meant.

"Your shapeshifter lover's an acquaintance of his, I presume?"

Seungcheol slapped haphazardly somewhere behind him, hearing the lab technician giggle mercilessly.

"Yeah."

Joshua left without much of a flourish, disappearing into the city like Jeonghan's very own fairy godmother.

It left Seungcheol reeling a little, the detective didn't know whether he'd managed to impact _thee_ bestfriend positively or negatively. But he had a feeling Joshua had made his mind up about him long before, and the visitation was just a reaffirming both to himself and to Seungcheol who the detective really was.

It wasn't until later when Seungcheol was lazing in the comfort of his own home did he realize that the undeterminable expression in Joshua's eyes before he left was one of hope - both in the sense of future opportunity and a plead.

Seungcheol grabbed his cellphone from the nightstand and began calling the person he's been trying to contact this past week and a half. The constant ringing almost discourage the detective, wanting to pocket the phone before – 

_click._

"Seungcheol?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I stole a power from 'Alphas'. Joshua's power basically means all his senses are boosted but he can only use them one at a time, which i thought was pretty cool.  
> So to recap everyone's powers:  
> S.coups: telepath (mind reader)  
> Jeonghan: shapeshifter + healing  
> Joshua: synesthete (boosted senses)  
> Jun: empath (emotion reader + manipulation)  
> Hoshi: Accelerated probability (able to predict future actions and possible outcomes)  
> Wonwoo: Power detection (able to detect someone's ability)  
> Woozi: chlorokinetic (plant manipulation)  
> DK: transducer (able to read electromagnetic wavelengths)  
> Mingyu: super strength + invulnerability  
> The8: reactive evolution (able to adapt to any situation)  
> Seungkwan: invisibility  
> Vernon: interchangeable visions (including: x-ray vision, heat signature vision, enhanced vision)  
> Dino: pyrokinesis (fire manipulation)  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Chapter title from Saturnz Barz by Gorillaz <3


	10. Play the Hand You've Been Dealt With

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prerequisite warning; I. Dont. Know. How. To. Play. Poker. Well.  
> .  
> With that said, it's still my fav chapter so enjoy <3

Jeonghan arrived at Seungcheol's apartment precisely an hour after the agreed upon time. He'd been hesitant in answering when the detective finally gathered enough courage to apologize yesterday. Somehow, Jeonghan was afraid of how strongly the nightclub incident affected him. Seungcheol was nobody except the detective processing Chan's case, and yet...

Jeonghan didn't want to finish that thought.

Of course nothing was ever simple, and Seungcheol in addition to apologizing (stuttering adorably throughout), had ended his "I was out of line, I'm sorry," speech with a somber tone and a request. A pretty important request.

And as the detective began learning about Jeonghan, he also discovered the shapeshifter would do anything for his family even if he firstly seemed reluctant.

"I found a breakthrough with Minghao during our, y'know...nightclub...incident, but-" basically, Seungcheol's potential lead could possibly resulted in the capture of Chan's kidnapper. Jeonghan couldn't deny Chan of at least humoring Seungcheol's request.

There were unidentifiable emotions invading Jeonghan's chest, an amalgamation of animosity, protectiveness, and an oddly fluttery feeling at the prospect of meeting the detective. He convinced himself that he agreed to this purely to turn the detective down finalizing his resolve and making it extra clear that he didn't consent to anything regarding this. But then there were something complacent within himself, wanting to be convinced into helping.

He should've shot his conscience dead long ago.

There were people sauntering the streets with their noses haughtily upturned, knowing consciously their direction and their preceding actions. He was aware vaguely on what direction he should take to get inside of detective Seungcheol's apartment. He was supposed to notify the detective when he finally arrived and he'd buzz him up.

He had absolutely no idea what that meant.

He should've worn something better than the barely cleaned clothing covering his body, he looked painfully distinctive in the sea of arrogant people. Maybe he should've gone naked, shifted some sort of bullshit clothes and maintain that. He'd probably sleep like the dead after the meeting but at least then he wouldn't look horribly out of place. Saved himself the troubles of getting humiliated by the very people he sought to bleed dry.

Walking up to the front door, Jeonghan was relieved to see nobody was there except for an old lady who barely paid him any attention. There was an elevator that had no button but a card scanner in place to open it, that's probably why he needed Seungcheol to get inside. He observed as the old lady pressed a button in one of the panels and talk to it. He couldn't quite hear what the lady had muttered but a second later the elevator door opened for her to get inside.

Now alone he hesitantly copied the old lady exact sequence. Contemplating the wall panel lined with buttons with little names written below it. He had no trouble finding Seungcheol's name and barely thinking things further before pressing, listening to the buzzing.

He should've called the number the detective texted, safe himself a heart attack from overthinking and being hyperaware of how misplaced he was. It's just that he had his pride, he didn't want to seem stupid by being overtly inquisitive. Ironically, he looked stupid now.

"Hello?" Jeonghan heard the detective’s tinny voice filtering out of the panel.

"I-uh-I...I'm here?" The sentence came out more as a question than a statement and there was silence from the panel that made Jeonghan think he did something wrong.

"Okay," came Seungcheol's voice seconds later accompanied by the elevator opening behind him.

Alright then.

There were no buttons for him to press inside the metal box; he didn't even know which floor he'd need to get off on. Fortunately the elevator started to move automatically and Jeonghan was saved the trouble of overthinking again.

He watched as the numbers on the screen above climb higher and higher, he felt anxious with every passing floor. He came here with the intention of being steadfast and confident, conveying his disagreement to comply with Seungcheol and then returning home. This uncharted territory steadily stripped away his confidence, he was blindly moving along hoping he didn't make an idiot of himself. He should be confident by now considering what he did for a living, but something about seeing directly how little you're worth compared to somebody else felt disheartening. He thought he already knew who he was, but these couple of days throwing in more and more incidents at his face was making him rethink everything.

Eventually he arrived at the detective’s door. Knocking several beats until he's eventually introduced to Seungcheol's personal apartment. Seungcheol stared at him wide eyed, like he didn't expect Jeonghan to actually fall through with the invitation despite knowing the other had reconfirmed it just a couple minutes ago.

"Hi," was the simple greeting that fell through Seungcheol's mouth. Jeonghan anxiously scratched his head, smiling tightly, not knowing what else to do.

"Are we just gonna stand here or –"

"Oh, no, right – please, come in." Seungcheol stuttered out.

The inside of the detective’s apartment was unsurprisingly comfortable, nothing flashy or egregiously luxurious, exactly like the exterior. But also exactly as the exterior, Jeonghan knew that the simplicity in the designs, ornaments, and furniture are perfectly choreographed around the room. Something carefully constructed, an attempt to convey a deceptively humble atmosphere than it's reality. Jeonghan had to remind himself the two different worlds he and the detective traversed around; he couldn't afford helping somebody by risking himself, the family that he already owned.

"Please sit." Jeonghan sat on the cream colored sofa, it was understated like everything else in the room. Jeonghan was grateful Chan was able to stay in a cozy, comfortable apartment before reuniting.

"You want a drink? Food?"

"Can we just cut to the chase please."

Seungcheol nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes, of course. I won't take much of your time."

Seungcheol sat gingerly opposite of Jeonghan, nervously rubbing his palms together. He didn't know where to begin; afraid he might cross another line. He was pretty positive that this request goes against agency protocol, but he really was desperate. His coworkers were all swamped, the city's been slowly declining to shit, and he really didn't think he could do this mission that he concocted without some assistance. At least the Captain entrusted him in solving this case, but now everything was escalating steadily bigger than the case, and if his gut was telling him anything, is that he would be willing to go rogue.

And grovel at Jeonghan's feet.

"I'm sorry about before, truly."

"You said that already." It wasn't difficult to regain confidence apparently, especially since Seungcheol was giving Jeonghan all the power.

"Right, I just wanna repeat that again – this isn't what I called you for."

"Then why am I here, detective?" Jeonghan crossed his leg, keeping them there with intertwined fingers corralling his knee. Seungcheol was nervous, Jeonghan could tell, and after the buzzing lights of their little quarrel and eventually make out session, Jeonghan find Seungcheol's complete nervousness endearing.

"You know you can call me Seungcheol." _again,_ was what Seungcheol wanted to say, but he could tell Jeonghan wasn't completely trusting of him yet 

Jeonghan leaned forward closing the gap between Seungcheol and him, his long hair covering his face gracefully. Attempting, but ultimately failing, to look intimidating and not terrified like he actually was. "Alright, Seungcheol, what am I doing here?"

Seungcheol's throat became dry, the tension returning, the one that he and Jeonghan seemed to share whenever they interact with one another. If everything weren't so complicated then he would've been more open to exploring their relationship like they haphazardly did before, hoping he wasn't the only idiot who felt something tangible. Right now unfortunately there's no space for any personal attraction.

"I _really_ need your help," he began, conveying as much sincerity as he could muster in those words. He started to explain everything about what they had discovered, about the party that they needed to get into for information. About how only a select few people were invited and he needed Jeonghan and Soonyoung to aid with getting around that.

Seungcheol watched as Jeonghan steadily drew in on himself, he was beginning to wonder if asking for his help was the correct decision, especially right after he wronged Jeonghan, undermined the other's worth and determination. He watched as the boy in front of him nervously pulled at a strand of his hair before quickly drawing it behind his ears; Seungcheol realized then, Jeonghan was afraid. The other gaze darted nervously around the room like it was going to swallow him alive. It was the same kind of nervousness that Chan had when he stayed with him. He realized how overwhelming and daunting it must be to be in their position and to suddenly be thrusted into this unpredictable circumstances. 

"Please, I know that this is _huge,_ but I desperately need your help. I know that you're afraid that the people you love might get hurt because of this, but trust me I would do everything in my power to keep that from happening."

Jeonghan bit his nails; he really hated how convincing Seungcheol sounded to his ears. He didn't know why he had grown such an attachment to this singular person who constantly irritated and polarized him. And yet...they fell asleep to each other's voices and managed to create a world inside a disgusting bathroom together.

Besides, Jeonghan, no matter how much he denied it, wanted to help people in general.

"How can I trust you, Seungcheol, what you did –"

"I know, I really am sorry," _I really do like you,_ "How can I prove that I'm trustworthy?"

Jeonghan scanned his eyes around Seungcheol's neatly assembled apartment, searching for a solution. 

He stood up and started pacing the room. It's adorable, the personal knick-knacks that Seungcheol had that filled the shelves hanging on the wall. There were no pictures or anything, which led Jeonghan to think that maybe Seungcheol had nobody to share the frame with. There were other objects, all random, seemingly insignificant. Jeonghan ghosts his hands over them, his mind working, thinking something up.

From where he was, Seungcheol observed Jeonghan nervously. The other boy was really beautiful, the curiosity and fierceness hidden in such a delicate exterior really drew Seungcheol in.

Jeonghan played with the marbles, different broken Russian nesting dolls, and moved on from one item to another. Until he settled across a deck of cards and some poker chips. Jeonghan was well verse in poker, being a practical scammer. He also liked playing to pass the time as he waited for some of his target. He sometimes even deliberately folded a few good hands just to butter up those targets, putting on the helpless damsel act. He wondered what it would be like to play Seungcheol, someone who could read him telepathically. 

Jeonghan caught on by now their gossamer string of constant connection, neither knew how it came about but neither disliked it. It did however made Jeonghan feel vulnerable; he wasn't ready to divulge anything deeply substantial to Seungcheol yet, even if their mind had apparently connected.

Trust.

"Hey, you play?" Jeonghan muttered behind him, already inspecting the chips and the cards Seungcheol owned thoroughly.

Poker, Seungcheol frequently played back when he was still indulging in extravagant and exuberance. It was bittersweet, his past, he still kept something from it. He couldn't wash himself of who he was completely.

"It's been a while, but yeah."

Jeonghan hummed, walking back to Seungcheol. "How about this, we play, and if you win then I'll help you, but you can't cheat."

Seungcheol wasn't even thinking about cheating, trust was the test after all. He'll try to win as fairly as possible.

"I know what it feels when you're in there Cheollie...the second I can feel you –"

"You'll stop the game."

–"And I won't help you."

Seungcheol contemplated his presented options. He was descent at poker, but it's been a while.

"Alright." All things considered, this was still Jeonghan's game.

They ended up settling in the kitchen, the elevated countertop were considerably a better position than leaning over the shallow coffee table. There weren't any windows or fairly reflective objects or anything, everything resembling that were already stored away. There weren't any other option but to play fairly.

"Deal me."

Whatever comfortable atmosphere that surrounded them were suctioned right out and replaced with a suffocating tension. For a moment Seungcheol was back, he was young, barely realizing what his parents did had made the money he spent dirtier than previously imagined. When he was sixteen, when he was playing with his friends throwing around money like it's nothing.

Seungcheol was given the dealer button after he received the higher card than Jeonghan. He placed his small blind and Jeonghan placed his big blind.

"So Seungcheol, now that we're face to face and not making out –“ Jeonghan dealt the cards face down with an incredible velocity, putting the rest of the deck back at his side. They're playing Texas hold'em, the starter game to any poker player; Jeonghan figured he'd at least throw Seungcheol a bone judging from the dust collecting on the deck when he found them. "Tell me about yourself."

It was a sleazy technique Jeonghan's aware, distracting someone during a poker game, but Jeonghan wanted to actually converse with Seungcheol directly, discover information they couldn't share through phone calls. Jeonghan knew Seungcheol found him incredibly irresistible judging from that unexpected club encounter, he wanted to know more.

"Well what do you wanna know?"

Jeonghan cleared his throat and check his hand whilst Seungcheol mirrored his movements, both of them revealing absolutely nothing.

"Start from the beginning, how come you're working as a cop rich boy?"

They're off.

"Detective," Seungcheol corrected, grumbling under his breath, unable to retain his scowl after hearing Jeonghan giggled. He contemplated his several future probable movements as he answered. "Well, let's just say I got tired of spending my parents’ dirty money." Seungcheol threw his chips in the pot, "Raise." he figured his cards were pretty solid. He knew he had the option to not play every hand but it's been awhile since he's played, plus he was feeling embolden.

"Call." Jeonghan threw his in, they didn't establish it but Jeonghan could also cheat, easily maintaining a poker face, utilizing his ability to make an unchangeable feature. Considering Jeonghan have the upper hand currently, it didn't matter anyways.

Talking and distracting was an additional tactic, coaxing Seungcheol to fumble and read him when he's desperate. What Seungcheol said about dirty money didn't sit well with Jeonghan either.

"I'd spend ‘em if you're not going to."

Seungcheol chuckled humorlessly, the sound surprising Jeonghan since the detective sounded genuinely irritated.

The flop was dealt; the three cards shown were a four and a six of hearts, and another four of spades.

"Check," Jeonghan announced immediately, he wasn't gonna be arrogant a single round in without any provocation, regardless of the quality of his hand. 

It was a pretty agreeable flop for Seungcheol, the two hearts – one of Ace and the other a five, his hand could play well if he was lucky at the turn. The thought of reading Jeonghan crossed his mind, seeing the glint of something curious in the other's eyes, but trust was the agreement and he wasn't going to surrender that easily. "Bet."

Jeonghan almost snickered, Predictable.

"I'm sorry to say I don't have my parents’ money anymore – not even sure if my name's still in their will," Seungcheol continued the conversation. He wasn't sure how long he had gone without talking to his parents, and the previous time he did, his parents had all but seized their opportunity in coaxing Seungcheol to return, playing their game. It still didn't sit right with him to associate with them. It made him feel dirty.

"Let me guess," Jeonghan said, folding his arms, leaning semi-intimidatingly to stare at Seungcheol's eyes, widening in alarm at how close Jeonghan was getting. "You don't talk to them anymore because you feel disgusted by what they do, and you chose to be a detective with a massive savior complex because you wanna atone for their sins. Is that it?"

Jeonghan got it exactly correct; it made Seungcheol uneasy at how predictable everything was. "Are you sure you're not the mind reader here?"

Jeonghan blurted out a chuckle that sounded snarky as the shapeshifter leaned back in his seat, brushing his hair away from his face. It was always the same, the two breeds of the elites. One who felt no shame for what they did for a living and the other who was remorseful but otherwise unhelpful towards the people below them. Regardless that mindset was both derived from one singular belief, a belief that they were all better than everybody else. It irritated Jeonghan, the fact that Seungcheol was absolutely blind of the privileged he possessed.

Jeonghan's willing to strip his dignity everyday if it meant keeping all his loved ones alive, he wasn't above anybody, even if his pride sometimes surfaced. Joshua, who's Jeonghan closely acquainted with also had wealth, but his bestfriend was actually doing something to reinvigorate a dying system.

Until Seungcheol did that with his position and not only following along, Jeonghan couldn't completely develop his feelings towards the detective any further.

"You know Seungcheol, you're more selfish than I thought you were. Bet you didn't know that about yourself."

Seungcheol heart drops hearing those words, all his life he always took comfort in knowing he'd escape, started a better life. His heart dropped even more when the turn was dealt and he saw ten of clubs. 

"How come?" He tried not letting it get to him and change his demeanor.

"You could've given the money to charity, y'know, someone like me wouldn't care where it actually came from," they didn't have the privileged to. "Or you know, you could start a business in the slums with that money, give some of us some descent job," Jeonghan said the words with increasingly more bite. “My friend Joshua, you met him, he's doing something like that – check."

Seungcheol was aware, but shook his head nevertheless, "You don't understand." He tried to explain, but ultimately unable to elaborate further, he really couldn't express the frustration he felt during those times, of being manipulated by the system and wanting to escape. "Check," he mumbled out, his feet tapping an anxious rhythm onto the kitchen linoleum.

"What don't I understand Seungcheol? That you'd rather throw away resources that someone else might need just so you could feel better about not spending your parents’ dirty money?"

The river was dealt to reveal the queen of hearts, and there it was, Seungcheol's opening to win this fight he wasn't sure he wanted to win anymore.

"Bet," Jeonghan challenged, and that threw Seungcheol into a bit of a loop. His head was horribly jumbled; however, the thought of reading Jeonghan never crossed his mind. The shapeshifter really had a talent in frustrating him; the passionate glint in the other's delicately shaped eyes, and the way his tongue bites you with every word. He was saying some really hurtful things to Seungcheol, but deep down he knew the other had a compelling reason for them. And if the telepath found Jeonghan absolutely attractive doing that then nobody else needed to know.

"I'm all in," Seungcheol surprisingly decided, he was thoroughly worked up with emotions to think straight. All he could recognize was that his cards were descent enough now with the existence of the queen of hearts. "You really don't understand, those were dirty money. My parents did a whole lot of awful things to get it – they manipulated me into getting it as well. I hurt so many people in the process."

"Call." Jeonghan put his chips in. "I understand that the people your parents swindled were the people stupid enough to _get_ swindled. They probably had plentiful for you to steal anyways. But now you're a detective, doing your part to 'rescue' the people of the city." Jeonghan's voice was oozing with sarcasm. Seungcheol still didn't get it. "My people aren't part of the city though, not to a lot of people's eyes. Seungcheol, you can't expect me to believe you've evolved without you growing outside a broken system."

Jeonghan had a point, but the shapeshifter undermined Seungcheol's experiences, it made him understandably frustrated. Seungcheol flipped his cards, revealing his hand, a flush. He smiled a little to himself, knowing it was practically a winning hand.

"And therein lies the difference between the two of us. You can afford to wash your hands of the dirt forced onto you by somebody else, I can't. I do whatever I need to survive – I've seen deaths caused by my hand. Not everybody can afford to make ourselves feel better." Jeonghan flipped his card and Seungcheol's disappointment swallowed him right after. "Some of us have to play the cards that we're dealt with, even if it means getting your hands dirty to make it worth something." Two sixes, one’s of heart and the other of spades – a full house. "Pray that we're lucky."

"You won," Seungcheol needlessly muttered, completely exhausted and defeated.

"I got lucky."

"No, you were smart, you played me by distracting me – making me frustrated."

Jeonghan hummed. "Force of habit," he shrugged, what he did was dirty and that's how he play. That's how he survived his horrible experiences. "You didn't read me." He noted, that was quite a surprise as well, he had figured that getting Seungcheol frustrated would made him succumb.

"As promised." He wasn't even going to anyways, he detested cheating and he valued Jeonghan's time. "I'll drive you home."

"Yes. Then on the way you could inform me about the mission"

Seungcheol's eyes went wide, does that mean?

"Well don't look so surprised, I learned a lot about you Cheollie and even if you're a blind sack of shit at times...I understand partly, your exasperation. And I do think you care Choi Seungcheol." Jeonghan threw Seungcheol into a loop with the warmest, genuine smile, gifted for the detective. It made Seungcheol weak. "Plus you didn't cheat, so, I trust you." With his family's life too no less, except. "Chan's not getting involved, like at all. Deal?"

"Deal," Seungcheol agreed with tenderness in his voice that Jeonghan's beginning to get accustomed to. "Thank you," he added, liking the redness that climbed up the shapeshifter's neck and blossomed onto his face.

"Whatever, I'm not doing it for you; it's just to give Chan some peace of mind knowing those bastards who kidnapped him got caught."

Seungcheol didn't even have to attempt to read Jeonghan's mind to know that even if he was just red for filth by the other, his self-serving hero complex (that he was gonna attempt to fix) was able to recognize Jeonghan's own, carefully concealed, more selfless, hero complex. Sometimes a perpetual self-destructive tendency since Jeonghan was susceptible with self-sacrifice.

They weren't all that different.

Seungcheol came out of the game with a new found respect in addition to the growing fondness he had for the shifter. How complicated Jeonghan could be, and how beautiful that notable fact was.

Jeonghan stood from his seat, making small movements to rearrange his clothes before moving towards Seungcheol. He ghosted his hand over the detective’s cheek before placing it under his chin, turning it so they were looking directly at each other. Jeonghan too blossomed something within similar to fondness, it's been growing ever since they met, but now he allowed it to thrive under the more comfortable open air. He smiled, a little smugly as he ran his thumb over the detective's bottom lip.

"Come on, take me home."

*

Joshua was the last to arrive at Vernon's household, for several days now he had been repeatedly visiting Jeonghan's apartment, asking his bestfriend if he was okay. Jeonghan had bent over backwards to cater to whatever Chan needed, whilst managing to avoid the pyrokinetic. Joshua, seeing the ramshackle apartment, readily agreed to babysit Chan and Soonyoung when Jeonghan finally visited Seungcheol. 

He hated seeing everyone so worried and tense. 

Then Jeonghan returned home, with detective Seungcheol guiding him with a comforting hand on the small of his back.

Joshua was glad his conversation with Seungcheol worked.

Joshua understood – their encounter with Minghao happened pretty rapidly. Detective Junhui protecting Minghao throughout. It was clear that Minghao wasn't who they thought he was, but beyond knowing that Minghao was an informant, they didn't know anything else. 

It took Chan a couple of days to recover himself; he still wanted to uncover everything. Seek justice.

Joshua understood, he wanted to help anyways possible, but he also understood where Jeonghan was coming from when he said. "No, from now on we're done. I don't need you to disappear on me again."

He had forbid Soonyoung from pursuing the matter further either. They've just been radio silent, with Jeonghan and Chan cultivating a thin gossamer invisible tension between them from avoiding the topic of conversation. Jeonghan went out a couple times with Soonyoung, leaving Chan in his care just so the shapeshifter could escape. He did come home with money from different hunts, and there was the nightclub incident with detective Seungcheol.

Jeonghan had been off kilter for days before Seungcheol apologized. Joshua was happy at least everything had been partly sorted, especially since Jeonghan decided he'd help Seungcheol.

That at least subsided Chan's hurricane of emotions.

After he deemed everything sorted, Joshua finally found it appropriate to handle the other mess. Seungkwan's

He couldn't ignore Seungkwan anymore, not that he meant too, it's just sometimes it felt like he was being stretched too thin, juggling both sides. If only there weren't such a big divide between the slums and the elites, he was pretty sure if everyone had started off on even playing field than the two groups would've met and enjoyed each other's presence right about now. He knew Soonyoung and Seokmin would bond over their knowledge on computers and technology. Seungkwan would love Jeonghan's attentive personality. Chan and Mingyu could bond over how immature they were.

Instead he had this, twice as many problems.

"Josh! Where have you been? I need you," Seungkwan whined, pulling away from his place plastered to Vernon's side and coming to hug him.

"What's going on?"

"I think I might die," Seungkwan blurted. 

Things had escalated since Vernon examined Seungkwan before. The slightly older boy had a habit of working himself up dramatically the longer the root of his problem went by unfixed. And with the new development of his parents' secret, Seungkwan's been struggling to keep himself together.

"Ssh, you're not." Vernon pulled Seungkwan back to his side, rubbing at the other's arm protectively. Was it inappropriate to think that the pout on his friend's face looked adorable?

Maybe.

"I don't know, he might." Mingyu unhelpfully input. He might be trying to help but sometimes he's brutally honest. Leaning over he gave everyone their cups of mac n cheese. Mingyu cooks when he's frustrated, or afraid he also cooks when somebody else was those things. Seungkwan enjoyed food; he needed to chew on things to distract him. 

"Woah, woah, what? Dying?"

"Didn't you read the texts?" Seungkwan asked, exasperated.

Things have definitely escalated since he was occupied with his other friends and his job. He got numerous texts from Seungkwan, all frantic and indiscernible. He received some from Seokmin, very informative but out of context. He got one from Vernon, who just said 'hi' and nothing from Mingyu.

Joshua breathed exasperatedly, trying not to get frustrated, breathing calmly through the commotion. "Tell me again."

Seungkwan explained everything Joshua had missed for the past couple days, interjected several times by Vernon and Seokmin. Joshua's eyebrows climbed further up his forehead with every word. Somehow it felt familiar. "The whole city's falling apart."

"What?" Seungkwan had been curious on what his friend was doing these past couple days, he respected Joshua's time of course, and that he had other business to attend to that doesn't involved them. He was still curious.

"Nothing, it's just – never mind." Even if the subject surrounding everything – overdrive – was sorely similar, surely they two situations couldn't be connected fully.

"It doesn't matter we need to decide our next move," Vernon interjected; he was beginning to get increasingly anxious.

Joshua hummed in agreement. "Whatever this is, it's bigger than all of us, it might potentially get dangerous for us if we don't have more information."

"We need a plan," Vernon reaffirmed.

Seungkwan nodded. "We need to get inside that party."


	11. Leagues of Social Climbers Are Abound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter's sooner than usual, huzzah! Also, my x-men jeongcheol fic is out if anybody's interested. I think I'm on a writing high rn so I'mma ride it.

Chan turned his back on Jeonghan, petulantly lying. Jeonghan released an exasperated sigh. Chan had been, thankfully, overarchingly agreeable these past few days, occasionally throwing him wary glances underneath his imploring ones.

Predictably, when Jeonghan had agreed to a meeting with Seungcheol, Chan was ecstatic. This furthermore elated him when he discovered that Jeonghan had decided to help the detective in some sort of mission.

Jeonghan, figuring Chan deserved some debriefing and reassurance, didn't realize how his explanation ultimately came across as rather misleading 

"Chan, seriously, it's not even that big of a deal," Jeonghan lied, zipping himself up, grumbling when his hair got caught. 

Jeonghan might've given Chan false expectations.

No, It didn't matter how much the other wanted to, he wasn't going. And even though he didn't throw another ultimatum-like fit, the cold shoulder of disappointment didn't felt any better.

_Progress,_ Jeonghan thought, a little but it was evident.

The sparkly silver cocktail dress he previously frequented became very much unwearable, if not for the overpowering stench of burning bodies then from the memory of what it had witnessed. It was quite a shame since otherwise it was perfect; it didn't chafe him on any crevices of his body, it hugged his body correctly regardless of his frequently shifting body, and it's also easier to pair a silver dress with any color shoes or accessory. Now he was stuck with the deep maroon velvet number that had a mermaid contour, a gigantic slit revealing his leg. It looked amazing; Joshua gave it to him when his mother was accidentally given the wrong size. Joshua thought Jeonghan could utilize it instead, through his usual endeavors. Ultimately, he'd only wore it once before. It was too much of a hassle, from trying to put it on, to walking in it, to finding the complementary accessories.

If Jeonghan ever learned anything from his little heist missions, it was that women everywhere had it hard. He loved the way a dress look on him, but man was it a pain in the ass.

Chan refused to help him get ready too, since he was preoccupied with sulking. 

Jeonghan had to be patient; Chan had given him numerous olive branches and middle grounds that he hadn't accepted before. It was only fair to allow Chan his time to refuse as well. 

Soonyoung was also coming along which made Chan envious. He did understand that sometimes he had to let the people around him fight for him. It's still a particularly difficult concept to grasp but he's getting there.

It wasn't ideal, and Jeonghan might’ve suspected a hint of worry in between all those disappointments, which showed Chan wasn't furious unlike before. He just needed time to process.

Jeonghan struggled into a kneel beside Chan, rubbing the other's back comfortingly.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

He heard Chan sighed body shifting underneath the blanket. 

Soonyoung was already waiting in Seungcheol's car, Jeonghan really needed to get going.

Walking away, mid-way reaching for the doorknob, he heard Chan rustle behind him. "You promise?" He heard his little brother whisper hoarsely in an unexpectedly worried and vulnerable voice that might've broke Jeonghan's composure a little.

"Promise," he replied sincerely, walking back to Chan who readily sat on the mattress, curling their pinkies together. Jeonghan planted a kiss to the other's forehead.

He didn't know why they were acting like he was departing for war, it surely felt daunting enough. This was bigger than a felony, this could determine what happened to somebody else's life, he couldn't afford any failure.

*

Seungkwan was attempting to swallow his heart that had leaped up to his throat. The entrance to the party was unassuming; it was a newly constructed building that looked deceptively empty from the outside, the trail of people decked in expensive suites and fancy dresses hugging the backside of the building proved otherwise. The fear however lied somewhere else, with the burly men guarding the back entrance who looked like they're capable of squeezing his head open just by glaring. He didn't want to enter, he felt safer inside Seokmin's SUV.

"Well unless you suddenly manifest the ability to walk through walls then you just gotta suck it up and go past them." Joshua chided. Seungkwan's fear was understandable but misplaced since nobody was going to see him. 

Seungkwan's been training every day for the party and eventually managed to hold his invisibility semi-consistently even managed finally making somebody else also invisible. 

They chose Mingyu to go inside alongside Seungkwan since Mingyu was a perfect bodyguard. Strong, able to break a couple backs if needed for escape. Joshua had also been considered to go before ultimately deciding on their friendly tree. Seokmin needed to be in the car to watch the inside of the party and make sure everything goes smoothly; his task included manning the ear pieces to guide the infiltrators inside. Vernon was also on heat-signature look out, he made Seungkwan and Mingyu wear his cooling device that he made in Germany for different purposes. Fortunately it worked well in this situation, since it aided Vernon in distinguishing his two friends from the other patrons. With Vernon they have eyes where the cameras couldn't capture. Joshua, ultimately staying out, decided he could be additional look out whilst keeping an ear out to the infiltrators.

"What do we do? What do I have to do? I-I don't remember, I –"

"Seungkwan," Vernon's full or reassurance and a hint of amusement effectively halted the invisible boy somewhat. Grabbing Seungkwan's face, he caressed the other's cheek, looking at Seungkwan's eyes with an intensity that made Seungkwan's heart stop. "You'll do just fine. All you need to do is just stay invisible, don't touch anyone, and pay attention. If you find any pill just grab one and get out, okay?"

Seungkwan nodded vigorously. "Uh huh, yup, hmm...okay." smiling hysterically a little.

Something about his two friends clearly enamored disconcerted Mingyu. "Oh my god, get a room," Mingyu whined, stepping out of the van. Ever since the breakup Mingyu had been having trouble stomaching relationships, he found people who remotely showed affection in a clearly romantic sense very off-putting. It was easier when Vernon was away, rendering their friend group's romantic dynamic to zero. But now...

Mingyu brushed his hair back, playing with the cuffs of his green suite, he kinda felt bad since he always teased Seungkwan for being such a pussy when it came to Vernon. Now that the two finally made a little progress he was being a bitch about it. He should move on by now.

"Didn't know Wonwoo affected him that much," Vernon mumbled, finally letting go of Seungkwan.

"They were together for three years." Seokmin shrugged. Truthfully they all knew it was for the best, the two had completely differing personalities and ambitions. They were going on a separate destination inside the same car; one of them had to get off eventually. It more so hurt Mingyu's pride the fact that Wonwoo was the passenger who got off.

Joshua snapped his fingers at the three others who were rapped looking behind them. "Focus," he reminded. "It's almost time, are you ready?" He asked Seungkwan, the other nodded immediately.

"Okay, let's do this thing."

*

Jeonghan adjusted the hem of his dress, revealing his leg out the side of the open car door, purse strongly gripped, the black card invitation inside. It nearly gave Seungcheol a heart attack witnessing Jeonghan beautifully descending the steps, as a woman no less. Besides surprising, it was uncanny to see the female version of Yoon Jeonghan. The last time was unfortunately murky underneath the darken LEDs of the dingy club bathroom, plus he was already occupied with Jeonghan's lips to –

"Hey," Jeonghan snapped his fingers in front of Seungcheol, reminding the detective of their current situation. "Give me the ear peace." Seungcheol place the small black item in Jeonghan's hand.

The other really did look amazing.

"Okay, Jeonghan, all you need to do is locate the target, grab his phone, and make sure to get it close to the transmitter we gave you, simple. Like what you usually do." The transmitter was safely tucked inside Jeonghan's purse, he would only have to drop the target's phone inside and let Soonyoung do the rest. Ten minutes, and they don't even have to steal anything this time thanks to the agency's resources.

Something about this situation concerned Seungcheol. It wasn't like this mission was completely protected by the agency, he even warned Jeonghan this detail, but he readily accepted anyways. Seungcheol was hesitant. Maybe it's his biases influencing his decisions, but he wanted to ensure Jeonghan safety. This resembled Jeonghan and Soonyoung's usual excursion too much for Seungcheol's comfort. It disregarded agency protocol.

This wasn't a hundred percent.

"Make sure to do it quickly, so we could get you out of there then escape." Junhui notes the numerous flaws in their plan, worrying. Jeonghan nodded anyways.

"The guy usually doesn’t roll with any bodyguard, so don't worry about getting pass one," Minghao added from the back seat, sitting beside Soonyoung.

Soonyoung smiled at his hyung, giving the other a nervous thumbs up as encouragement. They've done these trillions of time before, sorely lacking any adequate equipment, without back up, and surrounding dangerous places. 

Unlike the detectives, he felt confident in gaining success. After all, they've experience similar situations beforehand. Still, he acknowledges everything that's different. The stakes were higher and both Soonyoung and Jeonghan were finally hitting that looming barrier that told them they were in over their heads. But just like when Chan went missing, one of them needed to put on a braver face in order to achieve success. That responsibility, decidedly, would once again fall onto Soonyoung. Jeonghan was going to be in the line of fire anyways, so he figured Jeonghan needed reassurance.

"Can you hear me?" Minghao said through a small microphone.

"Yup." Nodding, Jeonghan resisted the urge to fiddle with the ear piece. It felt strangely intrusive, resembling an ear bud stuck inside his ear, but he couldn't draw attention to it once inside.

"Okay, I can hear you on this end." Minghao was the one who were going to oversee Jeonghan, guiding him. Minghao was the only one who's completely educated regarding the target since he spent some time as the8 with him. He was quite a disgusting man with expired values and beliefs, he felt entitled to everything and he talked through the side of his mouth, a force of habit from letting his cigarette hang from the side of his mouth whilst conversing with people. Overall he was an untrustworthy and dangerous man, but Minghao had fortunately gotten on his good graces several occasions before. Now he's hopefully able to impart that information onto Jeonghan. 

Minghao needed this to work. After meeting Chan, seeing the anger and pain his actions had caused the other made Minghao wanted everything to be resolved quickly. He wanted his agreement with the agency to be terminated and to start building a new life, a better one.

"Alright." Failing to convey confidence, his hands started wandering endlessly, smoothing out his dress, worrying his bottom lip. Looking behind him he saw hoards of people, dripping with opulence, surrounded by the feeling of superiority, strutting inside the building. Confident, never feeling estrangement, a slight glint of anticipation in their eyes. Mimicking them was impossible. Regardless of his competency as a shapeshifter, the posture imbedded inside of those people couldn't possibly be mirrored. Dirty slumrat blood ran through him, not liquid diamonds.

_Hey, you're a million times better than any of them – you'll be amazing._ He heard Seungcheol's encouragement echoing through his mind.

_Get out of my head._ Jeonghan teased, finally able to joke about it.

Seungcheol smiled. 

_Kiss for good luck?_ Jeonghan offhandedly suggested before quickly leaning down pecking the detective on the lips before he could register anything.

"I –"

"I'll see you in a few okay?" And then Jeonghan was off before his hesitations overwrought him, leaving a stunned Seungcheol behind. 

He was definitely asking Jeonghan on a date after all this.

"When did _that_ became a thing?" Soonyoung questioned from the back seat.

Seungcheol ignored Soonyoung, instead clearing his throat to distract from the blush creeping liberally upwards his neck.

"Okay, let's just focus."

*

Seungkwan was holding tightly onto Mingyu's arm, it felt like forever before they reach the opened entrance, they were both standing there, cluelessly waiting for everybody to clear up. Everybody it seemed, have suddenly decided to be fashionably late to this event. Seungkwan didn't anticipate this predicament; in fact he was beginning to think that they hadn't anticipated anything with all of them just being overly zealous of this infiltration mission.

His oxygen was abruptly choked out of him, when the muscular bodyguard began glaring at the spot the two infiltrators were standing on. Was he not invisible? Was the lack of reflection in on one of the window panels in front of them an illusion of competency Seungkwan concocted inside his own mind as false encouragement for himself? Was it –

"Move," Mingyu whispered harshly in his ears. The sudden warning almost flicker Seungkwan into visibility, thankfully he managed to prevent it. Barely.

Two guesses moved through where they were standing, Seungkwan then realized that they were who the bodyguard was glaring at.

"Seungkwan, relax." Vernon calmly instruct in his ears. "I can see your heart beating out of your ribcage."

Right. He wasn't even through the door yet and Vernon could still spot them. It was kind of freaky that Vernon could just do... _that_ , see right through him, literally. _Wait, does this mean could see me naked,_ he thought as his chest began pumping another heart attack inducing rhythm.

"Hurry, look, there's only one person left going inside," Vernon pointed.

There was a woman, barely older than Seungkwan, walking inside, clad in a deep blood-red dress long enough to reach the ground. She was having trouble preventing it from getting dirty on the slightly wet tarmac, having to bunch the hem of the dress up. Everybody seemed to appreciate her troubles, happily ogling her up and down from further away, stuck in their spots and keeping their distance wide enough for the two infiltrators to trail behind her.

"Stupid assholes," the woman mumbled under her breath, glaring holes at some of the people who openly tried to sneak a peak of underneath her dress. Seungkwan couldn’t' agree more, some people really were just unashamedly disgusting creeps. "Stupid dress." Now that Seungkwan didn't agree with because holy hell that dress looked amazing. It sorta resembled the one he saw Mrs. Hong bought from his parents, weird; he thought it was one of a kind.

Suddenly, Mingyu pulled him sideways, the force hard enough to almost yank his arm off. Okay, maybe Seungkwan exaggerated certain actions whenever he's nervous. Besides, miming words the other rolled their eyes on was his only coping mechanism.

Underneath 'the cloak' – as Seungkwan so called it – people looked somewhat blurry, similar to distorted images under water, only not as hazy. He's still capable of navigating himself and Mingyu who's also covered underneath the cloak. Unfortunately, It becomes dizzying after a while.

The two of them made their way to a safer place where there weren't too many people mingling about. It was smart really, Mingyu were the one who pulled them straight into the thick of the crowd, bumping people here and there only nobody seemed to pay them any mind since they've already expected to bump anyways.

Discovering a clearing beside the stage, they decided to stay there, besides the slightly raised podium similar to the ones in ballrooms and wedding venues. The structure was layered underneath velvet – the expensive kind. The decorations surrounding the stage were cream colored, accented with gold, a perfect picture of luxury. Seungkwan was impressed at the set-up.

"Focus," Vernon reminded. Which was odd because surely he couldn't see Seungkwan being distracted –"Mingyu's tugging on your sleeves." 

oh.

Seungkwan directed his attention towards his friend, raising an inquisitive brow. Mingyu's eyes pointed towards the other side of the ballroom and Seungkwan followed Mingyu's direction. The moment he laid eyes upon them was the moment every fraction of his soul got forcibly ejected from his body.

Right, his parents were also attending.

He was interjected from his wide-eyed staring by the deafening microphone feedback ringing through the enclosed space. Being nearer to the stage speakers was beginning to look like a horrible decision. Barely managing to hold in a wince, Seungkwan bit the inside of his cheeks to prevent any noises from escaping that could potentially alert others of their presence.

Seungkwan was beginning to sweat, even with only fifteen minutes passing. At least in their hidden position he didn't have to maintain their invisibility and overexert himself. The couple minutes inside his parents’ office room had been incredibly difficult, there’s no way he would survive a whole party relying on his invisibility alone. 

Maybe the anxiety of possibly being caught factored into the fact that the room felt horrendously stifling. Or maybe it was the room full of people triggering his brain into thinking everything was sweltering hot. Seungkwan has never been nervous in public, in fact he found happiness in being admired by a pool of people. It seemed that ever since overdrive he'd discovered a newly found anxiety in other people. 

Now he finally noticed. They're smiles were extremely fake.

"Ladies and Gentleman." A man began talking animatedly to the audience. The room dimmed slightly, like a show was about to begin. Somehow Seungkwan and Mingyu were reluctant to uncover what kind of show that was.

"See any pills?" Joshua asked in his ear, once again reminding them of their true purpose, "Put your hands up if the answer's no so Vernon could see you."

Seungkwan hesitantly did as instructed; it's relieving to know their hiding spot was solid.

"Okay, just put your hands up again when you see it."

Inside the car the air wasn't any less tense; Seokmin was obsessing over switching between cameras to see if there was anything happening, which resulted in the responsibility of watching Seungkwan and Mingyu being relegated mostly to Vernon. Joshua was keeping a vigilant ear out on everything else, beginning to get a better picture on things.

"I think this is a fundraiser event," Joshua informed both for the people in the car and the ones inside.

"Fundraiser, for what?" Vernon asked.

Joshua shrugged. "They're deliberating if they should donate anything or not. If it's worth it."

The two groups returned to their task, keeping the information tucked in the back of their minds. Seungkwan and Mingyu were listening to the mc of the event droning on about things that made the audience chuckle, an icebreaker opening of some sort. It was all very mundane until the mc started diverting the topic, grabbing their previously depleting attention.

"Everyone, I'm sure you're all aware of the main event. You wanna know if you decide to...donate, will your generous infestation be worth it." The man said in an overly exaggerated, jester-like manner. "Well, you'd certainly receive overdrive for whomever you need it for."

The MC made his way through the crowd, vivaciously galloping around like a circus master. "Your child? Your partner? Somebody here have at least one person that they're close to that are... _humans._ " He spit the word out like it absolutely disgusted him, it made Seungkwan flinch since he'd been human for so long before. Even currently, realizing he wasn't human anymore, the apprehension towards the elite's toxin-invested mindset regarding mutations made his stomach churn and bile rose up his throat.

"Well, if you fund our little...five minute overdrive endeavor, that five minute could possibly turn into forever." Cheers erupted throughout the whole ballroom, everybody elated at the mention of the possibility of their issues ending. "Of course you might want to know; does it work? What would we gain?" The mc clicked his tongue. "Well ‘fraid not people, tonight your minds would be blown and your questions satisfied.

"Oh my god," Seokmin gasped, Seungkwan could tell something was freaking his usually sunshiny friend out. His voice was dripping with horror and disgust.

"There's somebody locked inside a cage, he looks really malnourished. A-and there's other kids, I don't know where they are but there are tubes like... _inside_ them." 

Vernon, scooted over beside Seokmin to see what the other saw, reeling instinctively afterwards. "The kids are hooked up to some sort of machine, there's pills pumping out of one end."

Seungkwan gulped, sounded really horrible. Whoever these people were it's clear they're dangerous, being involved in any capacity could result in potential harm towards him. He didn't want his parents to be involved either, but there was nothing he could currently do he needed a sample of overdrive quick, figure out his uncertain death schedule and then maybe report everything to the police. He sure as hell hoped he'd survive.

"You want proof? Here it is folks." Someone carted in a massive tube-shaped glass container and placed it in the middle of the audience. Captured inside was a young boy, trembling in fear warily glances at everybody surrounding him. Simultaneously, his eyes were unfocused like he was drugged beforehand. 

Seungkwan thought he might vomit.

Somebody reached out, opening a section of the cylindrical prison, force-feeding the pill into the child’s mouth.

Mingyu yanked at his arm again, effectively drawing away Seungkwan's attention. Then he saw it. There was a pocketful of overdrive readily hanging off of the person who force-fed the boy's pants. Seungkwan leaped into action, turning them both invisible. Wanting to finish things quickly, he navigated through everyone efficiently until he reached the clearing where the person and the glass cage resided. He grabbed one pill and tried moving back slowly.

He saw the child suddenly contort in front of him in an oddly misshapen sort of way and Seungkwan almost gasped. The boy folded in half like he suddenly lost his spine, it was disturbing since the boy was too dazed to do anything but the fear in his eyes was still piercing.

"That is sick," He heard Vernon comment, revulsion filling his voice.

Yeah, it was. But the people cheered the boy on as he contorted into numerous different shapes, doing party tricks for the people who were hurting him. Seungkwan wanted to leave. Now.

With the people piling around the trapped boy, it became easier to navigate through the side where less people were milling about. He was going to vomit; he carted Mingyu who couldn't process the boy behind, disbelief making his gigantic friend pliant to Seungkwan's carting. Seungkwan was determined to get out, his lunch was about to lurch out everywhere.

"So who wants to be the first donator, huh? The top ten people who generously donate to our cause will get twenty pills for free." Silence fell over the room as people raise their numbers announcing how much they would pay and a chart appeared where people's name and how much they donate were thoroughly listed. Names of elites were called out as each people set to donate a certain amount. "Ah, Mrs. Boo, thank you for your generous donation."

Seungkwan lurched, he needed to vomit now. He made a b-line towards the bathroom, visibility flickering erratically

"Hey you okay?" Mingyu asked at the same time Joshua said "Wait."

Joshua, by now wanting to see the action inside had peered through Seokmin's laptop. Seokmin had all but abandoned it, choosing to see through phone cameras of the attendees inside, utilizing his powers.

Something caught Joshua's eyes; he never thought that there would be cameras aimed located anywhere near the bathroom. Regardless there it was, pointing towards somebody he second guessed the identity of twice, but there was no mistaking it.

Seungkwan balanced himself on his feet, swaying dazedly as Mingyu hitched his friend up to a standing position in the hall. "Need bathroom," his friend choked out. Mingyu nodded and started walking his friend towards the bathroom, not noticing the two people that had entered before them.

Arriving at the bathroom, the door was unusually heavy. It wasn't until Seungkwan half gasped, half begged Mingyu to do something that Mingyu finally decided to bust the door open with his strength. The door broke off its hinges, making Mingyu realized that it was locked, and then he looked up to see the reason why it was locked. 

All he saw was red after.

"Jeonghan?" Joshua shouted. His bestfriend needed help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Social Climb by I Don't Know How But They Found Me <3


	12. Every Face Is a Hologram, We're All Caught in a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW  
> So this is when the rape/non-con tag comes into play. Its a tiny section of the chapter and super vague, but if ur sensitive its better to be safe. Plus the story's still easy to follow even if u skip this chapter

Jeonghan passed through the door without so much of a glance behind towards the people whose happily scanning his body shamelessly thorough. He genuinely felt bad for women; it's so uncomfortable being one.

The party or whatever it was, was packed full of attendees, wealthy people who had their pinkies raised whenever they gulp down their fancy beverages.

It was disgusting, Jeonghan thought, the entire place was pearlescent, golden white and shiny through every single corner. The curtains were deep burgundy, velvet no less, with crystals hanging on ropes ascending it. There was a gigantic chandelier in the middle of the room that could easily kill ten people if it falls. Jeonghan secretly wished it did.

Jeonghan scanned the room, searching for his target's ugly face that he had to forcibly memorize solely for this mission. The guy looked like a creep, with a permanent smirk on his face whenever he got captured on security cameras. He had a condescending way of carrying himself, making all the people around him looked all but four feet tall in his presence. It was menacing, but Jeonghan was more repulsed by the man. 

He was a pimp on top of everything, making income out of desperate women, taking whatever lives they had, smothering it unashamedly. 

He was thoroughly sickening and Jeonghan had to flirt with him, he even memorized what the guy liked in his women. From the slim, average size stature, moderately sized breast, toned everything, and to his shoulder length dark brunette hair. He was the perfect vision of his target's fantasy which would hopefully secure his success

Still, it was a nauseating experience, but he's a professional.

"The man's on the other side of where you're standing, in one of the private booth," Minghao informed.

Jeonghan nodded discretely, hoping Soonyoung saw his answer, but if he didn't Seungcheol did, he could feel the detective prowling in his thoughts, present at the forefront like a safeguard to remind him that he wasn't alone.

_You're not._

_I know,_ Jeonghan answered, before making his way towards the target.

All the people milling about, openly, curiously eyeing him made him agitated

This wasn't his first time. It wasn't that he thought of himself as the end-all-be-all when it came to attractiveness; it's just that when you're a shapeshifter you could be the perfect vision of anyone wet dream, commanded completely at will. Who knew that the target's taste in women was common amongst these folks. 

He doesn't like shifting for too long, and for reasons like these, he only does it for the money, or currently, for Chan. It was easy to lose track of yourself when you could be anybody else.

 _That's why you have a shining personality,_ Seungcheol teased, a little bit of sarcasm powering his teasings. Jeonghan could tell there was genuine complement within though, and he willed his blush and smirk away.

_Is that so?_

"Wanna sit, little miss?" Jeonghan heard, he was preoccupied attempting to make it so he looked like he wasn't busy with paying attention to everybody else, that he forgot what he strutted across the room for. 

His target's sleazy, crooked teeth smile made him want to vomit. The shiny gold tooth in place of an incisors glinted in the light, it was tacky, and repulsive, but he smiled nonetheless; an innocent smile, hidden within it a mischievous intent that he disguised as something sexy instead of something hidden, a desire to be destructive.

"Why, thank you." He slid himself next to the target, who wrapped his arm around his shoulders immediately. Jeonghan eyed the hand, secretly sneering, before immediately schooling his face back into one of innocent nonchalance. It was a good thing the target didn't notice.

He could feel a coiling fury wrapping itself around his mind, though the sensation was apt, it wasn't his. Seungcheol really was predictable.

Jeonghan didn't know but he thought of teasing Seungcheol for it later, a warmth settling within his chest, blooming a small smile tugging on his lips that he had to bite away. That seemed to subside Seungcheol’s raging emotions a little, but the target ended up thinking the smile was for him.

The target leaned closer, breathing in Jeonghan's ear like a predator toying with his prey, giving it a preview of its shining shark teeth.

"What's your name sweet thing?" He asked, tone condescending. Jeonghan felt his soul chip away for trying to suppress the urge to slap the man across his stupid face.

"What's yours?" He asked instead.

The man chuckled darkly. "You're a feisty little thing."

Jeonghan stretched his lips thin into a smile, innocent and sweet. A little murderous

"Baller, what's yours?"

Jeonghan kept the grin, grabbing 'baller's' glass and downing the warm amber-colored content inside. "Wouldn't you like to know," he answered teasingly.

Baller chuckled again, emphasizing by tightening his grip onto Jeonghan's waist with his long talon-like nails. "Oh, a really feisty one, huh?"

Jeonghan bit his lip, not giving anything away, he tried his best fuck me eyes he could muster, maybe if he could get Baller's defenses down he could get to the phone, wherever it was.

"It doesn't matter; all you need to know is my name anyway." Baller signaled two fingers at the bartender across the room, who intently watched the target's signal telling him to get him another drink. He leaned in closer against Jeonghan's prickling ear. "You're gonna be screaming it later," baller whispered before kissing his neck.

Jeonghan shivered, managing to make it seemed like the involuntary response was from anticipation and not repulsion.

Seungcheol returned, angrier than ever. It made Jeonghan feel better that he was there.

Meanwhile, Seungcheol was seething inside the car. This is why you never mix your work life with your love life, Junhui thought, touching his friend's tense shoulder tentatively before compelling the hurricane invading the other's temple to subside. It was difficult trying to deplete an endless pool of hatred. Junhui didn't blame Seungcheol, the target really was disgusting.

"Are we good?" He heard Minghao questioned warily, a hand over the microphone so Jeonghan didn't overhear.

"Yeah." Junhui nodded.

"The guy's absolutely disgusting," Seungcheol spit, unending hatred sprinkled within. "His mind, it's so-"

"We know." Junhui tried again to calm Seungcheol down. "We know, it's the name of the game."

It didn't make Seungcheol feel any better. Reading the other attendees inside served nothing either, only overwhelming him with their seemingly endless amount. Condescending thoughts jabbering about their power-hungry intentions, it's giving Seungcheol whiplash surrounding his history. He didn't think he can handle it. 

The only other thought he's unable to focus on was the people attracted to Jeonghan. Desiring to own the beautiful creature for the night.

Baller the absolute worst offender.

"Has Jeonghan got the phone yet?" Seungcheol asked, his body shivering to get the shapeshifter out of there.

"Not yet," Soonyoung answered his attention thoroughly on the laptop. Fingers clacking intensively on the keys, it was what he did when he's agitated, obsessively looking up security cameras after security cameras. He hoped Jeonghan could secure the phone quickly and get out of there. For his hyung he'd be willing to overwork his brain, curling his fingers self-destructively just to chisel the time down to seven minutes, maybe five if he was diligent enough. Soonyoung got a horribly sinking feeling about this.

The room had started gathering, a man at the microphone freely speaking about something or another. For a second, Baller looked towards the stage, contemplating, probably wanting to join whatever event might bring the most chaos. It would be more difficult for Jeonghan to acquire the phone if his target's flanked everywhere by clueless people. And the longer the time passes, the more he looked about ready to depart.

Being quick-footed, Jeonghan started unabashedly inching closer towards the target, becoming increasingly handsy, stroking the other's suite jacket leisurely.

The sleazy smile returned sending nausea wracking through Jeonghan before lodging inside his throat.

At least his tactics were working.

"Like it?" He seized Jeonghan's fingers, coarse against delicate making an incredibly unfair comparison. "It’s silk from Italy," He bragged. Of course it was, expensiveness was the objectives of these people. Jeonghan always wonder why did the best things in life go towards the people who obviously didn't deserve it.

"Fancy," He appeased anyways, the ego needed to be stroke somehow.

Jeonghan took the opportunity to enticed baller some more, hands mapping whatever's jutting out whatever's pocket, searching everywhere for that damn phone. Coming across a slight bump, solid and rigid, Jeonghan breathes. _score_. But it was difficult to grab, the position would definitely raise suspicion if he-

It rang.

Baller sighed, sleazy grin wiped away quickly as he aggressively ripped the phone from his back pocket. The dude had been sitting on his phone, a difficult spot to grab the object, but now things escalated negatively.

Baller didn't even bother to answer it. Glaring at the phone before placing it back where it was, crushing it with his ass. Jeonghan sighed, he needed that phone, he didn't think that he could slip his hand through the second time without getting notice.

 _You need to get him to stand up,_ Seungcheol suggested, a hint of urgency powered by frustration in his tone.

_Yeah, no shit._

Seungcheol really wanted Jeonghan out of there, he didn't like the repulsive thoughts the guy was thinking surrounding Jeonghan. The flashing images of the desires inside Baller’s head were truly disturbing. The form of pleasure Baller subscribed towards was something that should only happen within a safe environment, between equally descent people.

This is not good.

Jeonghan thought of an idea, Seungcheol catching a glimpse of it sat bolt upright in his seat, garnering everyone else's in the car attention.

"What is it?" Soonyoung ask, worry in his tone.

 _Better go Seungcheol, you won't like this,_ Jeonghan said right before pushing Seungcheol out of his mind.

He didn't even know Jeonghan could do that. Nobody could do that.

"Wait," he said aloud, really freaking everyone else inside the car. "Shit, I gotta get inside," he rushed desperately, half way from getting out of the car.

"What are you doing? Seungcheol!" Junhui was grabbing at Seungcheol tightly. Their trainings made the equally as strong, but nobody could ever stop Seungcheol once his desperate.

Soonyoung who was extremely worried now, started to scramble to search for Jeonghan, who was not at the booth anymore. Having been distracted at the worst part before, Soonyoung frantically searched for his hyung, feeling his bottom hollowing out with every security cam empty of the familiar face. "No no no. We shouldn't have done this."

"We need the phone," Junhui argued, just as Soonyoung got the signal of the phone.

He was worried for Jeonghan but he didn't want the other's hard work to go to waste, so he insisted on multi-tasking.

_Seven minutes. I can do it._

The minute baller stood up, Jeonghan slipped his hand inside the target's back pocket and sneaked the phone inside his purse. He hoped no calls came through while it's in there, but he was sure he could take his mind off it long enough to slip it back if it did happen. A little sleight of hand was always the trick.

They headed to the bathroom, Jeonghan casually strolling through whilst Baller kept maneuvering him to walk faster. He made a flippant excuse that he didn't want to cause a scene in such a prestigious occasion, which seemed to appease his target enough to walk at his pace.

It took seemingly several minutes for them to eventually arrive inside the bathroom. Unsurprisingly fancy as everything else outside. 

It was cold, clean. Marbles decorated thoroughly instead of tiles. White and golden partitions for the urinals, the cubicles matching in aesthetics. It was shimmering, clinically polished. 

Jeonghan thought he'd rather live inside this bathroom than the shitty apartment he shared with Chan in the slums. There was even a bone-white, faux leather cabriole decorated towards the corner. Supplanted besides a fake looking - but actually living dieffenbachia plant - fake on account of how vibrantly green it was. 

_These people,_ Jeonghan thought, _wasteful_

Only allotted barely seconds to admire, he was suddenly being directed towards the furniture, disturbingly roughly. He failed to hear the locks clicking shut behind him. Although warning signs was ringing loudly as the blood rushing within his ears.

Getting back up calmly, he attempted to put his panic alongside his purse aside on the counter. Unfortunately, he was quickly prevented from doing that. Being sheep-herded towards the sofa distressingly forcefully. The beginning of a full-blown panic attack invaded Jeonghan's senses.

"W-wait," he heard himself for him to display such apprehension stuttering out. It was a rarity alongside vulnerability, having done similar things beforehand. But this was different, something Jeonghan's aware the precariousness of, but somehow always thought he would be able to escape.

He was intelligent, quick on his feet, experienced, and a mutant. Usually his targets were merely humans, mostly arrogant and uneducated.

And although Baller fits the latter part of the description, he was still surprisingly strong. And Jeonghan, agitated, couldn't shift or do anything.

_Seungcheol._

His previously halting words were disregarded, Baller instead choosing to ravage him everywhere. He was laid on the cabriole, having landed with a thump, Baller's body covering his constrictingly.

"Wait," he repeated, this time the agitation was audible. Baller hand's sneaked up the underside of his dress, and Jeonghan started to hyperventilate. 

Never had he ever been invaded like this before. Consent, protection, _his_ control, were always something present even when dealing with the shitiest people.

But now...

First of all he wasn't even sure pregnancy was a possibility within his female convines. He didn't want to find out. Neither did he want to discover if his superhealing could heal STD's. These types of people would never be considerate enough to have any protection. Jeonghan never before alotted them a chance to get this far, he set the rules even if he was pretending to ve demure. Giving them what they desired only when he was benefited. or else he would knock them out.

He couldn't with this one. Ten minutes.

Somehow disappointing Seungcheol and Chan was something he's concerning himself over within this situation. He didn't know when he'd cared this deeply before.

Baller squeezed his breast then, his nails digging in, intending to hurt him and gain his undivided attention. Maliciously grinning.

"Stop!" Forget it, Jeonghan thought, he was certain Seungcheol would value his safety more than this mission.

Wanting to sucker punch the guy out of existence, gaining strength and conviction back, something suffocating suddenly rushed over his spine, a coldness freezing over him. His body seized up, muscles stubbornly unmoving, rigor mortis setting in. He felt himself turned into dead weight; he couldn't move even minuscule maneuvers, sleep-paralyze-like state taking over. 

This was something akin to a nightmare. Once Jeonghan was disbelieving of happening, but simultaneously one he'd anticipated. This was what his insignificant heist could do, someday, today. Even with Seungcheol present he knew he the agency didn't back this up, it was absolutely dangerous. He was sure it couldn't get worse.

Then Baller began touching his skin, feeling underneath his skirt and pain, searing and blinding bloomed every time a contact is initiated.

Jeonghan tried to scream, but his tongue was nothing but a useless muscle. He was surprised he was still breathing with all the panicking and hyperventilating.

"You shouldn't have been so stubborn," Baller whispered in his ears, biting the lobe till Jeonghan was sure it bled.

Outside, Seungcheol, fortunately had long managed to rip Junhui's hands away. Soonyoung in the backseat was constantly making steady progress at an incredible speed; he only needed two minutes left if this kept going

"Seungcheol!" Junhui whisper-shouted as both he and Minghao, charged to grab at the incoherently screaming detective.

"Jesus, what is it? The target is dangerous we know, we established this, Jeonghan agreed to-"

"Jeonghan's going to get hurt! He's touching him, h-he can't move!" Seungcheol ripped through the other's hands once again before Minghao tackled him to the ground.

"Please, stop," Minghao pleaded, using his hands to literally cement itself onto the ground, surrounding Seungcheol.

"We need those data, you'll ruin the mission." Junhui didn't understand the overreaction, he tried to deplete the endless pool of hurt and worry from inside Seungcheol's heart. He genuinely was confused since he knew that Jeonghan knew what he signed up for was potentially dangerous, and might result into a more sexual type of distraction. _Was Seungcheol really that jealous?_

Seungcheol glared at him then, and both Junhui and Minghao fell to their knees at the flashes of Jeonghan. "Oh no."

*

Mingyu did the first thing he thought when he saw how the women had looked dead underneath that man, and when she gave him that pleading look, her head lulling listlessly towards the side - he ran and grabbed the man's collar tugging him backwards forcefully enough that the man flew to one of the cubicle door. He crumpled into a heap of groaning mess on the ground, but Mingyu was too busy helping the woman up, carefully.

Seungkwan jaw dropped, gob smacked at what he just witnessed. An attempted assault on top of everything he had endured tonight - at least, he hoped it was attempted. He winced and ran towards Mingyu's side, nausea forgotten momentarily to help the young women up.

"Are you okay?" Mingyu, asked, voice shaking a little but comforting nonetheless.

The women swayed in her seat, body still refusing to stay upright for long before she slumped back onto her side.

"Did he drug her?" Seungkwan questioned, tremor invading his voice.

This night couldn't get any worse.

The man that Mingyu shoved finally stood up, swaying on his feet, an angry flare flushing his face. "You threw me; I could sue you for that! Don't you know mutation powered assault could get you twice the punishment?!" He spits indignantly.

Seungkwan, who was quick to think on his feet, pulled his phone out of his pocket and pointed the camera at the man. From his position behind Mingyu, the man couldn't have known he didn't have his phone out the whole time. Seungkwan popped up from he was hidden, chest puffing out in a sort of attempt to come across like he wasn't shaken up, his head held high as he pointedly drew attention towards his phone.

"Do you? Cause I got that whole thing on camera, let's see which one of us would get away with self-defense, hmm?"

The man looked fearful at the sight of the phone, he could always get away with these things, but that was because he stayed clear of most cameras that could unarguably prove him guilty.

"Hey, don't get hasty now."

The women suddenly stood from her spot on shaky, legs, dismissing Mingyu's attempts on easing her steps. She grabbed her purse, walked over to the man and puffed up her chest, setting a scolding look on her tearstained face before she punched him. Hard.

The phone slipped back into the man's pocket went unnoticed by anyone.

"Get. The fuck. Out," the women gritted, watching the man straighten himself out, walking angrily out the door like he was the one who was wronged.

The three left stood there for what felt like hours, a thin tension tying them all together. 

"A-are you okay?" Mingyu asked again tentatively, slowly walking behind the women who was facing away from them.

The two boys gasped as he watched the women grew several inches taller, literally, her shoulders broaden, and previously soft but toned muscles turned sculpted a bit more bulky.

Seungkwan gasped. _what is happening?_

Then a sob, loud an involuntary cut through the post-panic and confusion. Mingyu and Seungkwan immediately felt horrible for the practical stranger.

"Do you need-" Seungkwan didn't get to finish his sentence before the women ran out of the bathroom.

Seungkwan and Mingyu both looked at each other deciding to run after the women, knowing that was the descent thing to do. It wasn't right to just walk away without making sure the women was okay. The two trailed behind her, invisible, but there. They made their way out, finally, and far enough away out of sight from the building that the two could turn visible again.

"Hey!" The two of them heard, they looked to the side to see Joshua running towards them, but it wasn't them he was addressing.

"Joshua?" Seungkwan did a double take.

"Jeonghan!" Somebody then shouted, before the woman was engulfed in a tight hug.

Mingyu's first reaction was to body the unfamiliar man again, but then he got distracted when Joshua also shouted, "Jeonghan." And move to a stop beside the women.

"Joshua?" Mingyu and Seungkwan saw another boy, with blonde, almost white hair, look wide-eyed at Joshua.

"Soonyoung? What are you doing here - what are you both doing here?" Joshua addressed both Jeonghan and Soonyoung in a confused manor.

Soonyoung stammered, glancing at everyone there confusingly. "I - we were-" and then he got cut off by a gut-wrenching sob, and everyone's attention returned towards Jeonghan who all but broke down.

"Seungcheol," Jeonghan gasped out through ragged intakes of breath. He felt Seungcheol rubbed his back comfortingly, shushing him and telling him he's alright. Jeonghan grabbed Seungcheol where he could and hold on for dear life, burying his face in the detective’s neck, effectively wetting it with his tears.

"Han?" Only then Jeonghan realized that other people had come up to him, his eyes glanced towards Soonyoung before eventually landing on Joshua who had spoken his name.

"Joshuji," he whined and let go of Seungcheol, who still cradled his body closely, whilst his best friend bend over to grab his barreling friend.

Soonyoung ran to his hyung side, and Jeonghan was effectively crowded by the three people there he cared for the most. 

Feeling safer he breathed in calmly and shook back the worrying glances.

"D-did you get the data?"

Soonyoung scrunched his face up before throwing himself at Jeonghan. "Fuck that," he brokenly whispered. "But yes, you don't have to worry about that anymore."

Both Mingyu and Seungkwan heard the surprisingly deep voice to the women, and maybe now they thought she wasn't a woman at all. The two of them didn't want to assume but they're thoroughly confused.

"I shouldn't ask this of you," Seungcheol suddenly piped.

"Ask what? Why are you here - why are you all here?" Joshua questioned, frustration building in his throat.

By then the commotion had garnered the attention of the passengers of the only two vehicles sequestered away at the relatively empty hidden spot. Coming out of the woodworks walked Minghao, Junhui, Vernon, and Seokmin, all looking confused.

"Joshua, you know them?" Seungkwan asked when he managed to untwist his tied tongue.

"Who are they?" Soonyoung asked to Joshua who seemed to be the middleman to this entire situation.

Seungcheol had now aided Jeonghan onto his feet, still holding tightly, crowding the other's body like a shield, away from everyone’s prying eyes as he rubbed his back comfortingly.

"I-" Joshua was at a loss for words; he had remnants of fear, anger still coursing through his veins from seeing Jeonghan getting hurt. He was worried, his head ached, and he was confused, but one thing's for sure. "I think we all need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...see u in 2 weeks. Please, feel free to read my x men jeongcheol fic to pass the time (yes this is a shameless promo). Comments r always appreciated  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Title from Mirage by Sabrina Carpenter <3


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